Toms River South wins Backyard Brawl, Defeats Central 57-34

BAYVILLE – Although Central and Toms River South are in different divisions this season, it does not lessen the rivalry between the two schools that are located less than five miles from each other. Led by sophomore Daniella Gordon’s game-high 18 points and 10 rebounds, Toms River South broke open what had been a two-point halftime lead and defeated Central 57-34, their first win over the Golden Eagles Eagles since the 2018-2019 season. Junior Linsey Cribbin, the team’s leading scorer on the season, added 16 points for the Indians, who move to 9-2 on the season.

Gordon scored six in a row in the third, part of a 14-0 run that turned a 28-27 deficit into a 41-28 lead for the Indians that the Golden Eagles were never able to overcome.

“It’s been a while since we beat Central,” said Gordon. “Every year our games are competitive [all of the games between the schools since 2018-2019 have been decided by eight or fewer points] and coach told us at halftime that our defense was going to win this game. Our defense flowed into our offense, and it translated to us being able to score.”

Central senior Jaelynn Witte did her best to keep the Eagles in the game, scoring a career-high 16 points to go along with nine rebounds. The Golden Eagles played without senior guard Brianna Nelson, who missed the game due to illness. Not having Nelson impacted the Golden Eagles on the offensive end, as they turned the ball over 22 times.

“Credit South for coming into our gym and being more aggressive than we were,” said Central head coach Dan Torsiello. “We just didn’t fight back when they made a run in the third.  We will get in the gym tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. and watch film and get things fixed.”

Toms River South has become a more diverse scoring team this season, lessening the pressure on Cribbin, who scored over 30% of the Indians’ points a year ago.

“Our girls were aware that it’s been a while since we beat Central, so this win means a lot,” said Indians head coach Christine Scherm. “The girls come in everyday and work hard. We worked in the off-season to prepare for this season, and I am proud of the work they put in. Teams come in and focus on Linsey, so it’s important to get contributions from other players. Sometimes it’s Kylee Ford, sometimes it’s Haley Johnson, sometimes it’s Daniella. This makes it harder on other teams to defend us.”

Toms River South (9-2) has a huge Class B South game on Tuesday night against Southern as both teams are 4-0 within the division.

Central (9-2) still sits atop Class C South with a game coming up Tuesday at Lakewood.