Wall Wins the WOBM Kathy Snyder Bracket With a Strong Second Half

TOMS RIVER — For the second year in a row, the Wall girls basketball team found itself playing in the WOBM finals. Last year, the Crimson Knights fell to Red Bank Regional in the Ray Cervino bracket, but this season they battled back to defeat Toms River East in the Kathy Snyder Bracket final, 39-36.

Trailing 20-15 midway through the third quarter, Wall was able to get their offense going and went on a 12-3 run to end the quarter to take a 27-23 lead. Sophomore Erin McBarron, who finished with nine points, scored seven straight points to end the quarter. McBarron knocked down a 3-pointer with time winding down and then came up with a steal and a basket as time expired.

“She is such a good basketball player and is slowly gaining that confidence as a sophomore,” said Wall head coach John Pagano about McBarron. “She got limited minutes last year, but she is really starting to come into her own. She is realizing she can beat people off the dribble. We are trying to take the training wheels off and let her fly.”

Both teams exchanged leads in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter. Sophomore Kacey Briles scored four of her team-high 11 points in the quarter. The Raiders took 33-30 lead with just under four minutes left after freshman Brooke Gathman completed a three-point play. Gathman scored all five of her points in the quarter.

Toms River East took their final lead with just under two minutes to play, 35-34, on a basket by Libby Dickman. Senior Erynn Richey scored the Knights final five points from the foul line to close out the game. Richey scored 8 out of game-high 12 points in the final quarter.

Wall was able to limit the turnovers in the second half compared to the 14 they had in the first half. After going up 4-0 to start the game, the Raiders went on a 9-1 run to take control of the first half. 

“(Pagano) told us to take control of the ball and limit turnovers,” McBarron said. “In the first half we had a lot of turnovers. In the locker room he said to keep control of the ball and it’s our game to win.”

Senior Marisa Amite, who won Most Valuable Player in the Kathy Snyder Bracket, played a big part in keeping Wall close in the first half. She scored seven out of her 11 points in the first half, but played a bigger role on the defensive end. She finished with 12 rebounds, six blocks and four steals.

“If every kid can match the intensity that Marisa Amite plays with, any team we can play with,” Pagano said. “She talks, she hustles, she does the little things, boxing out and she rebounds. She is not an ‘I want to score’ type of person. She just wants to leave it all out there.”