Phil Anastasia: Coach of the year: Gloucester's Sean Gorman

The best season in the history of Gloucester girls' basketball turned on the worst day of the year.

Coach Sean Gorman said that in the locker room after a devastating Jan. 31 loss to Gloucester Catholic, a crosstown rival, "it seemed like the whole world was crashing down around us."

Two days later, Gorman gathered his players before practice and put the cards on the table: The Lions would be defined not by that loss, but by how they reacted to it.

"I said, 'Girls, we've got to persevere and get through this,' " Gorman said. "I told them that from this day forward, no team in South Jersey was going to step on the court that played harder than we did."

The Lions took the coach's words to heart and embarked on the most remarkable run in the history of the program. With 15 consecutive victories, Gloucester captured the school's first South Jersey title in girls' basketball and reached the Group 1 state championship game.

"It was a magical run," said Gorman, The Inquirer's South Jersey coach of the year in girls' basketball.

Gloucester (27-3) was a veteran team that featured seniors Erin MacAdams, Marisa Cooper, Kaylee Conner, Jessica Lindsay and Kristen Jacobs. The Lions broke to a 12-0 start before a Thursday-Saturday lull in late January that included a lopsided loss at Salem as well as the setback against Gloucester Catholic.

"We learned from those losses," Conner said. Gorman "didn't get mad at us. He told us that we made some mistakes and showed us the things that we could do better. He said that from now on, we have to play harder than any other team."

Gorman is a 1998 Gloucester graduate who is a guidance counselor at the school. His assistant coach this season was his father, Joe, a special-education teacher in the district.

"He was the perfect coach for us," Cooper said. "He was so patient. He would always listen to what we had to say."

Gorman said the Lions were a unique team, with a bunch of "type A personalities" driven to succeed on the court as well as in the classroom.

The coach's best work was in February and March, as the Lions left their disappointment in the dust and drove deep into the state tournament.

"I may never have an experience like that again in my lifetime," Gorman said. "To see lifelong Gloucester High fans, people who have been going to every home game for years, moved to tears by what these girls were able to accomplish, it was just amazing."