By DAVE O’SULLIVAN
Staff Writer
LINWOOD — At noon on Saturday at Mainland Regional High, the clock struck midnight for upstart Absegami.
The Cinderella sixth-seeded Braves came into the South Jersey Group 3 championship game riding the high of a thrilling overtime win over No. 3 Moorestown in the semifinals on Thursday night, but the host and top-seeded Mustangs presented a whole different challenge. They are winners of 55 of their last 59 games, and were smarting from a loss to rival Ocean City in last year’s sectional final.
They weren’t about to let another upset happen this time around.
Mainland put four players in double figures, outscored Absegami 22-6 in the third quarter and cruised to a 64-40 victory to claim its third sectional championship in the last seven years. The Mustangs advance to the Group 3 state semifinals, where they’ll meet Central Jersey Group 3 champion on Wednesday night at Deptford High.
“There was definitely some pressure coming in here, but our coaches reminded us about the O.C. game from last year. Right from the start, I think we were in control. A lot of teams have been having upsets and they had a lot of energy coming into today, but we knew from the start we had we were going to let them know it was going to be our game,” said senior guard Kasey Bretones. “We knew we just had to trust each other and play the game we’ve been playing our whole careers. We just had to run our sets, and us being in position leads to us making baskets. We just knew that it’s not a one-man show, all five of us had to come together and do something to make this team keep going. It’s so exciting. This is all we’ve wanted, so hopefully we can go and get the job done (of winning a state title).”
“You only play one of these games once a year, and after last year we had to wait a whole year to get another crack at it,” said Mainland coach Scott Betson. “There was a lot of angst and a lot of emotion after that game last year, so I was happy with the way this one turned out. I thought the biggest part of the game was we got the lead early in the first half.”
The game was close early on, as Absegami star guard Reese Downey nailed a 3-pointer to get the Braves (16-13, 3-10 Cape-Atlantic American) within 6-5, but Mainland (29-1, 12-0 CAL American) closed out the first quarter on a 9-2 run to take a 15-7 lead. Sydney Stokes then nailed a three to start the second quarter to extend the Stangs’ lead to 18-7.
Mainland ran about three minutes off the clock in the second quarter with a half-court stall, but the plan seemed to backfire a little bit when Absegami forced a turnover and then got a 3-pointer from Analise Myles to cut the deficit to 22-14. But Ava Sheeran drained a wide-open three at the second-quarter buzzer to give Mainland a little breathing room at 25-14.
The Braves got as close as 25-17 early in the second half when Myles drained another 3-pointer, but Mainland responded with a 13-0 run that gave the Stangs a commanding 38-17 lead and put the game out of reach.
Mainland has three seniors — all 1,000-point scorers — in its lineup in Bretones and twins Ava and Bella Mazur, and they all showed up and did their thing, combining for 39 points.
“We don’t really talk about (the pressure), but I know I felt it. I’m sure there are a lot of coaches who don’t want to hear me complain about the pressure, but it comes with having a talented group like this. But, I don’t know, they are a different breed. I don’t know if they felt pressure as much as they just felt angry about how last year ended. They feel like they should win every game they play,” Betson said of his players’ mindset. “A lot of people would be like, ‘oh, I’ll take the pressure that comes with talent.’ But I don’t think these girls feel pressure. They expect to win every time they step onto the court. The goal of every season is to win a South Jersey championship, after that, let the chips fall where they may.”
WHAT’S NEXT: Mainland vs. Ewing in the Group 3 state semifinals on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Deptford High. Absegami’s season is complete.
Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sullyglorydays@gmail.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
