By LESLEY GRAHAM
In the opening round of the South Jersey Group Three tournament the second seeded Ocean City Red Raiders girls basketball program defeated the 15th seeded visiting Moorestown Quakers by a score of 37-18 Monday night.
The win improved Ocean City’s record to 19-8, while Moorestown ends their season 6-21.
The starting five for Ocean City were Marin Panico, Marlee Brestle, Abbey Fenton, Delaney Lappin and Emma Finnegan.
Leading all scorers was Ocean City senior Delaney Lappin with 12 points on the evening.
The game was a slow and somewhat stagnant effort from the Red Raiders as they struggled to make their shots in the first half.
With their aggressive defense that they have relied on all season, they were able to limit Moorestown’s quality looks at the basket keeping them to just nine points through the first two quarters of play.
Ocean City would take a 20-9 lead going into halftime.
As the second half got underway, Ocean City once again was sluggish on the offensive side of the ball, struggling to find a consistent rhythm throughout the second half.
Ocean City called a time out with six minutes remaining in the third quarter to get a fire going under them to extend their lead and finish the game.
At the end of the third, Ocean City was up 28-14.
With the final eight minutes to play, Ocean City was able to get 12 players quality time in the playoff game, which will only bolster their depth going forward into group play.
Their defense once again played tough, keeping the Quakers to four points in the final quarter of play.
With the win, Ocean City faces Seneca High School Wednesday night at home in the second round of group play.
