Moses lifts Rancocas Valley girls to victory

Rancocas Valley's 15-point halftime lead was shrinking.

With each passing minute, a scrappy, hard-nosed Seneca team looked more and more confident.

And, with three fouls, RV's Lauren Moses could only sit and watch.

The freshman center celebrated her 14th birthday Monday night at Seneca. The 6-foot-2 Moses doesn't doesn't play like a 14-year-old.

When she finally reentered the game late in the third quarter, Moses proved she also can handle pressure better than most girls her age.

The freshman netted seven of her 11 points in the tension-filled final period, helping RV hold on for a 46-41 nonleague victory.

The win improved RV, ranked second in The Inquirer's South Jersey girls' basketball top 10 to 8-0, marking the Red Devils' best start in coach Anthony Corrado's 10-year tenure at the school.

"We're glad we got the win for [Moses] on her birthday," Corrado said. "She was huge for us today and she's only going to get better.

"She's the piece to the puzzle that we've been looking for, for the last couple of years."

Lauren Gaskill, Brianna Logan, Natalya Lee, and Moses all finished with 11 points for RV.

With Moses on the bench to start the second half, Seneca's leading scorer, center Brittany Snow had little trouble taking over the lane on both ends of the court.

The Golden Eagles slowed the pace of the game and opened the quarter on a 9-2 run. Snow, who finished with 21 points and 20 rebounds, was responsible for six points in that span.

RV entered the quarter ahead by 28-13 but led by 34-27 entering the fourth.

"We've been demonstrating all season that when we're down, we're going to fight back," Seneca coach Sean Kennevan said. "But when we play a good team like RV, we need to find a way to put four quarters of solid basketball together. Unfortunately, we kind of didn't wake up until the second half."

Seneca (5-3) stayed hot to start the final period.

The Eagles scored six of the quarter's first eight points, cutting RV's lead to 36-33 with 4 minutes, 43 seconds left in the game.

That's when Moses took over.

On a hard charge to the basket, she made a layup and was fouled in the process with just under four minutes left. She hit the free throw, putting her team back up by 39-33.

The freshman went on to net her team's next four points and turned in a strong defensive effort - without committing a foul - helping to hold Seneca scoreless for a crucial two-minute span late in the fourth quarter.

"The season is just going great right now and we showed why tonight," Moses said. "Everybody's working hard, nobody's slacking, and it's working out really well so far."

Strong defense also helped RV end the first quarter with a 14-9 lead. Gaskill managed four steals and four points in the quarter.

"We missed a lot of easy baskets tonight," Kennevan said. "They were contested, but if four or five of those drop for us in the first half, we're right there."

Rancocas Valley   14 14 6 12 - 46

Seneca   9 4 14 14 - 41

RV: Lauren Gaskill 11, Arianna Williams 2, Brianna Logan 11, Natalya Lee 11, Lauren Moses 11.

S: Kristy Connor 6, Danielle Hubbs 2, Johanna Metzger 4, Brittany Snow 21, Erica Snow 8.