By DAVE O’SULLIVAN
Staff Writer
VOORHEES — The math isn’t really that hard to figure out. You’re going to win a lot of basketball games if you’re scoring three points per bucket while the other team is scoring two.
Moorestown — which averages nearly six 3-pointers per game — drilled home eight long-range shots on Friday night at Eastern Regional High and that was plenty to help the third-seeded Quakers take down No. 2 Cherokee, 45-29, in the South Jersey Invitational Basketball Tournament semifinals. The Quakers earned a trip to the tournament’s title game for the first time in program history. They’ll take on top-seeded Paul VI, a 73-28 winner over Cinnaminson in the other semifinal and a team that beat Moorestown by 30 points a few weeks ago.
The Quakers (21-3, 10-0 Olympic Patriot) nailed four 3-pointers in the second half, including three in the fourth quarter, scoring what coach Matt Emerson was the team’s best win all season. And that’s saying something, considering Moorestown is now 21-3.
“We have four or five girls who, if they are open for a 3-pointer, they have the green light. Shooters shoot, and they just played so hard. I have nothing but good things to say about this team. I mean, 21 wins, what more can I ask of them? And these are bonus games that are getting us ready for the state playoffs. We’re excited, this was a very good win,” Emerson said. “I think that’s the best game we played all year. We played a complete game. It was great to have the lead and never really give it up. Cherokee was starting to come back a little bit, but the girls never wavered and knocked down big shots at the right time.”
Moorestown got some big fourth-quarter shots from some young players, as sophomore Analyse Intenzo hit a three to really put the game out of reach at 40-27 with five minutes left to play, and moments later another sophomore, Ellia Oteri, drained another 3-pointer to push the lead to 16 at 43-27.
“Hitting threes build their confidence, and really just builds everyone’s confidence. And that energy just spreads throughout the bench, with the coaches and everyone,” said senior forward Grace Hanuscin, who finished with four points, three rebounds, five assists and five blocked shots. “We had some nerves at first, but we practiced a lot for this game and we were all super excited. So I think the energy and the hype will all of our teammates supporting us was just the biggest thing. We all worked together and (the bench) kept us up.”
Hanuscin ran into some foul trouble in the second quarter and had to sit for a majority of the period, and Cherokee was able to come back behind freshman Abby Ball, who scored six points, including four midway through the second quarter that got the Chiefs (17-6, 6-2 Olympic American) to within 24-21. But Emerson inserted Hanuscin back into the lineup to start the second half and she committed just one foul the rest of the way.
“Fouling is always trouble for me, I seem to always have that issue, but I just thought that I had to play smart,” Hanuscin said. “(Being in foul trouble) doesn’t mean you have to be soft, you can still play hard, you just have to be smart.”
“Grace does so much for us down low. She’s such a presence for us down there, and she sees the court really well on offense,” Emerson said. “Without her, our dynamic is a little different. She helps us out a lot — rebounding, blocking shots. A lot of our offense runs through her, so it’s important to have her out there.”
Moorestown outscored Cherokee 10-6 in the third quarter to extend its lead to 34-27 heading into the final frame.
“As a team, we all worked well together. We’re all looking for our own shots, but also for each other’s shots because we all trust each other. We have Grace down low, Analyse at the three-point line. We all trust each other’s ability to get good shots,” said Moorestown junior guard Rima Takla, who filled up the stat sheet with 14 points, six rebounds and three assists. “We’re a third-quarter team. We always come out of the locker room really hyped up and energized. I think that was the difference (tonight). Cherokee is a tough team and they played really well. Now we’re in the championship and we’re going to play PVI, which will be a big game. We played them before and we lost, but I think if we play the way we’ve been playing, we have a chance.”
“Cherokee is an unbelievable team, they are very disciplined, very well coached. They wait for the right shot. Our game plan was to try to speed them up a little bit and get them out of their rhythm,” Emerson said. “I can’t say enough about the girls I have — they play harder than any team in New Jersey and I’ll go to battle with them against anybody.”
Now the Quakers’ attention turns to Paul VI and trying to find a way to keep up with the Eagles, who play as many as a dozen players in any given game. In their last meeting, the Eagles had 10 different players score and they scored at least 18 points in each quarter.
“We played Paul VI before and we love playing really good teams. They’ll help us get ready for the playoffs, and that’s our goal,” Emerson said. “We’ll have to focus a lot on getting back in transition defense because they push the ball a lot. Cherokee runs a very methodical offense, so it was good for our girls to go against that style, too. Our game plan really came into effect and the girls executed.”
Added Hanuscin, “this is a huge deal because I think a lot of people thought of us as the underdogs in this game, and we proved a lot of people wrong. We’re just so excited to make it Sunday, I think it’s the first time we’ve ever (made it to the championship game) in our school’s history, so we’re super excited.”
WHAT’S NEXT: Moorestown vs. Paul VI in the South Jersey Invitational Basketball Tournament championship game, 3 p.m. Sunday at Eastern Regional High. Cherokee’s next game will be in the South Jersey Group 4 state playoffs, TBD.
Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sullyglorydays@gmail.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
