Ocean City’s defense overwhelms rival Mainland as Red Raiders cruise to victory

By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Publisher LINWOOD — The Ocean City girls basketball team got off to a fast start offensively against rival Mainland Regional on Tuesday night. The Red Raiders’ defense was more slow and steady as it ground down the Mustangs throughout the game. Grace Sacco scored the first five points of the game for Ocean City, then the Raiders’ defense went to work, limiting Mainland to just six first-half points — including a goose egg in the first quarter — during a convincing 39-15 win that kept Ocean City undefeated at 10-0. Ocean City built a 9-0 lead after one quarter, and Mainland wasn’t able to produce any points until nearly two minutes had gone by in the second quarter. That’s when Meghan Stafford scored an inside bucket, but by that time it was already too late. The Red Raiders built a 15-6 halftime lead, then outscored Mainland 12-4 in the third quarter to push the lead to 27-10. Sophomore point guard Grace Sacco finished with 13 points, seven assists and four steals to help lead Ocean City to a 39-15 win over Mainland. (Glory Days Magazine photos/Dave O’Sullivan) Sacco opened the fourth quarter by nailing a 3-pointer from the top of the key, and Nicole Piergross followed with a three of her own as the lead swelled to 33-10. “Mainland, their guards are good, but their strength is (on the blocks). We’re not that big of a team, we have Sierra (Schoenewald, 5-foot-10) but I’m only 5-7, so we really practice on helping down low and really condensing the paint,” said junior forward Olivia Briggs, who had nine points and had an outstanding defensive game. “We take pride in our defense, so I wasn’t surprised we were able to hold them to 15 points.” “We wanted to take away the inside game. The girls did everything that I wanted them to do. I think everybody played their role within the defense,” said Ocean City coach Paul Baruffi. “Overall, we just played really well. Offensively, I thought we had some good looks, we just didn’t hit the shots at certain times and that happens. We’re not always a great shooting team, but we’re getting better.” Baruffi said he was impressed with Briggs’ effort. He said she plays particularly well with Sacco, which isn’t always easy. Sacco is a very creative point guard and often throws no-look passes while she’s driving the lane that aren’t easy for a post player to handle. “For her size, she’s very deceiving,” Baruffi said. “You might not think she’s a block player, but she’s got a great drop step to either side and she finishes. And she plays very well with Grace. Olivia knows to be aware.” Rivalry games between Ocean City and Mainland usually draw a nice crowd, Baruffi said, and many of the girls play on the same AAU teams during the offseason. “I’m best friends with two girls (from Mainland) and we’re always going back and forth. We’ve played AAU together since we were little, so it’s always good to beat them,” Briggs said. “It’s a rivalry game. They are friends with a lot of them,” Baruffi said. “It’s a good rivalry. It’s intense while they are playing, but when it’s over they are good friends.” Sacco, left, and Olivia Briggs surround Mainland forward Meghan Stafford at the top of the key. The win was also an important confidence booster for the Red Raiders, who have a very difficult stretch of games coming up. The Red Raiders, ranked 19th in the state by nj.com coming into Tuesday’s action, take on Shabazz on Saturday at Holy Spirit High School, then host Lower Cape May Regional on Monday night at 6 p.m. Both Ocean City and Lower Cape May are undefeated overall and in the Cape-Atlantic League’s National Conference. Ocean City then travels to Absegami next Wednesday, Jan. 28, before closing out the month against Franklin, ranked 13th in the state. “We have a really tough stretch coming up. We’re playing Shabazz this weekend and Franklin the week after, so it’s good to have these games to pump us up,” Briggs said. “The win over Shawnee down in Florida was huge. I think that set us up to do what we are doing. That was a real confidence builder. After that game they really believed in themselves,” Baruffi said. “We’re just taking it one game at a time. We have a really tough stretch coming up, starting with Shabazz on Saturday, followed by Lower on Monday, Absegami, and we have Franklin, which is probably the best out of all of them, at the Battle By The Bay. It’s a tough four-game stretch, but that’s what you want to play for. We’re going to take it on and do our best and see what happens.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays  [adsense]