RV girls earn rematch with Sterling

The two teams sitting in the stands were as much a source of motivation as the one playing on the court.

Sterling and Willingboro, the other two teams set to play in the final four, both looked on as the Rancocas Valley girls' basketball team beat Timber Creek, 62-35, Friday night in the South Jersey Invitational Basketball Tournament at Sterling.

Rancocas Valley has been itching to play Sterling since losing to the Silver Knights in overtime Jan. 22. The Red Devils got their wish, as Sterling won the other semifinal, 52-45.

But they also would have relished another matchup with Willingboro, a team they beat at the buzzer on Dec. 21.

The Red Devils said they entered the game determined not to overlook their matchup with the Chargers.

"We wanted to come out and make a statement, having to play first tonight," Rancocas coach Anthony Corrado said. "And I just thought the girls played really hard, we did a lot of good things, and they just weren't able to stop us."

Rancocas Valley (23-2) and Sterling move on to the championship game Sunday at 4 p.m. at Sterling. Timber Creek (16-6) and Willingboro will play in a consolation game at 2 p.m. Sunday.

Natalya Lee and Lauren Moses (10 rebounds) each netted 15 points for the Red Devils.

The two helped a Rancocas Valley offense that was clicking both in transition and in half-court sets.

But what Corrado said he was most happy with was his team's defense against Timber Creek's top scorer, Jasmine Martin.

Martin, a senior Quinnipiac recruit, is widely regarded as one of the most dangerous scorers in South Jersey.

Though the guard netted 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, Martin had trouble finding open space. She hit only two shots in the second half before Rancocas Valley pulled its starters in the final two minutes.

"We just wanted to make sure that whatever points she was going to score, she was going to have to work for them," Corrado said. "And I think she was probably a little tired in that second half."

Rancocas opened the game on an 11-4 run and was never in danger of losing the lead.

Brianna Logan's catch-and-shoot three-pointer in the final second of the first quarter put Rancocas Valley up by 23-11.

The Red Devils extended the lead to 32-18 at halftime.

"It's exciting that we were able to move on to the championship game," said Moses, who helped put the game away with eight fourth-quarter points. "Before the game, we said that we wanted to come out hard and take control of the game early on, and it worked out well."

Like most of her team, Moses has had a rematch with Sterling on her mind since losing to the Knights last month.

"We definitely wanted to play Sterling because they beat us," Moses said. "But we knew Willingboro was a great team, too."

Rancocas Valley   23 9 13 17 – 62

Timber Creek   11 7 6 11 – 35

RV: Lauren Gaskill 8, Arianna Williams 2, Natalya Lee 15, Brianna Logan 13, Jasmyne Lewis 5, Lauren Moses 15, Sabrina Jackson 2, Jordan Woods-DiPace 2.

TC: Megan Barth 1, Sierra Peters 3, Alexis Riff 7, Jasmine Martin 20, Deanna Miller 4.