OCity 51, Mainland 48

Now that the cutoff date is just about upon us, the last of my nightmare Thursday nights is behind me. From now on, I might be able to actually post here within 12 hours of the game I cover on Thursdays.

Anyway, I walked into Mainland's gym last night and Karl Geisinger said, "You're a week early!" But I figured it was time to see Mainland play for their own sake, and not just because the Mustangs put on a great event like the Shootout at the Shore. I sat firmly in the OC cheering section, however, because one of my cousins is a Red Raider starter, and I had close relatives in the crowd. It was great to see them, and interesting to watch a game in the bosom of partisanship. I can't say I'll be looking for another opportunity, but the OC fans were not so bad, and pretty astute basketball-wise. Mainland made a lot of nice plays, and they recognized many of them too, if only very quietly.

Ocean City deserves its No. 9 ranking, but I fear for the Red Raiders against a Group 3 team like Wilson, which can outrun them, or Timber Creek, which has a very strong inside presence. OC is normally a running team itself, but they did a great job of changing their spots last night as a defense against the transtition abilities of Carlee Briglia and Sarah Cohen. I'd be anxious to see Mainland against a team that lets them run to their heart's content, because even though the Strangs have some hieght in the post, that height can run. I was particuarly impressed -- as I know OC coach Paul Baruffi and many in the OC section were -- with the speed of Lauren McPeak, who is so tall and thin that you'd think she couldn't run the fast break without seriously injuring herself. But she beat the Raiders down the court on the break twice early, and OC quickly learned to shut off the jets. As I look at the Group 4 teams likely to be there in the playoffs, I'm a little disappointed for Mainland because so many of them stress the half-court game and unlikely to try to run with the Stangs. Still, they'll have a better chance to turn up the pace on their own against many of those teams than they did last night, because OC is too small and quick to consistently turn the ball over in transition.

Another thing I was very impressed with was Mainland's foul shooting. From one end of the lineup to the other, those girls can scorch it from the stripe, and watching Briglia shoot fouls, I got the feeling she might never miss. That could be a real factor in close games down the stretch, the just need to get some leads. So many leading teams are susceptible to the foul-to-get-possession strategy late in games. I can imagine that -- given the ball-handling ability and experience of those two guards in addition to the team-wide strong foul shooting -- Mainland is an excellent closer.

I thought OC was going to brick its way out of the lead in the last minute last night, but Nancy White steadied the ship at the line in a way that -- as the point guard -- she'll continue to learn to do better during the flow of the game. She's got good size and great ability, and it'll be interesting to see what sort of lead guard she turns out to be. Talking to her after the game, I realized she has the will to play the position; she wants the responsibility, whether it be at the foul line or on the court.

The other stars of the game for OC were Michelle McKinley and, off the bench, Casey Beyel. Those were two names I recognized from the girls' lacrosse season, so I'm not surprised at all that they turned out to be terrific athletes. The whole team is full of those sorts of players, and many times they can be the most fun to watch because raw athletic ability can turn into skill at any time. I think the key is not to start to count on that from any one player. Just play hard and hopefully somebody steps up and makes a play.

Anyway, I'm headed to Cinnaminson-Holy Cross in literally a minute. This one will go a long way towards deciding the Burlco Patriot Division.