By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Publisher LINWOOD — Mainland Regional girls basketball coach Scott Betson said he would have liked to have had more than 24 hours to prepare for second-seeded Timber Creek on Sunday in the South Jersey Group 3 semifinals. The way the Mustangs played on Saturday against Moorestown, perhaps it’s a good thing they will be right back on the court for their second game in as many days. Winter Storm Thor pushed the game against Moorestown to Saturday, giving the Mustangs two full days to rest and heal up a little bit from some bumps and bruises. They dished out the bumps and bruises on Saturday, dominating the paint in a 44-20 win over the Quakers. “We had some bangs and bruises, so in a sense that rest probably was kind of a blessing. Obviously, I’d like more than a day to prepare for the next game, but it is what it is,” Betson said. “Part of our message to the girls was, we have two options here. We can either sulk and complain about the schedule we have, or we can just give it everything we’ve got.” 
Mainland’s Megan Stafford drives past a Moorestown defender during the Mustangs’ 44-20 state playoff win over the Quakers on Saturday afternoon. (Glory Days Magazine photos/Dave O’Sullivan) Forwards Megan Stafford and Gabby Boggs combined for 26 of the 44 points, as Mainland made it a point of emphasis to establish itself in the low post. The final outcome was never really in question, as the Mustangs sprinted to a 17-3 lead to start the game and were up 25-8 at halftime. A big reason for that was an increase in pressure defense that gave Moorestown’s guards fits when they tried to get the ball across half court. “We had identified through our scouting that we thought we had an advantage with pressuring them in the full court,” Betson said. “One of the things they are is big, so we tried to neutralize their size by keeping the ball on our side of the court as much as we could and limit their possessions.” Moorestown (12-13) came in as the No. 6 seed and got past Triton 39-33 in the first round. Mainland (21-4), the No. 3 seed, has been dominating in the first two rounds, outscoring Gloucester Tech and Moorestown 96-54. Melanie Malcolm chipped in with seven points against the Quakers, and freshman guard Mackenzie Brennan came off the bench and nailed a pair of 3-pointers in the first half as the Mustangs built a 17-point lead. 
Mackenzie Brennan came off the bench to hit a pair of 3-pointers in the first half, helping the Mustangs build a 25-8 lead by halftime. “Obviously, for us to get the early lead was huge, because even if a run happens you have that buffer there so you never really feel the pressure,” Betson said. Moorestown showed some life in the third quarter, cutting the deficit to 29-16, but it was much too little, much too late for the Quakers to get back into the game. Betson said playing on consecutive days at this point in the season is going to be tough, but his message to his team was this is the time of year when you have to be mentally tough. “We hope we can carry the momentum and keep people feeling positive. We just have to stay mentally tough. We’re on the road for the first time, and the level of competition increased with every round,” Betson said. “We told them if we lose a game it’s not going to be because we are unhappy with the schedule, it will be because we gave it everything we had and just ran out of gas at the end. That I can handle, and that was my message to them.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays [adsense]
Rested and ready Mainland makes quick work of Moorestown in SJ Group 3 quarterfinals
