High School Girls Basketball:
Shawnee Steals Victory From Rancocas Valley

Saturday, January 23, 1999

By Art Redd
SJSports Staff Writer

Heavily favored Rancocas Valley hosted Shawnee Saturday afternoon in girl's basketball. It would seem as if this matchup would be another display of a strong RV team wearing down the Lady Renegades. Things don't always happen the way you expect when two good teams battle on the court. Shawnee was able to shut down Rancocas Valley's offense in the second half and defeated them 40-31.

Rancocas Valley went into this game riding a 11-game winning streak and looking to improve that by one. In the first quarter, the Red Devils went right at Shawnee's defense with Khalilah Smith positioning herself inside. She scored 6 of Rancocas' points to lead here team to a 10-7 first quarter lead. Turnovers allowed Shawnee to get right back into this game to tie the score at 12 with 4:23 remaining in the half. Shawnee's Liz Martin scored a basket and got fouled to help the Lady Renegades go up with a 19-14 halftime lead.

When Shawnee started the second half, they score quickly which forced the Red Devils to call a quick timeout with 6:45 remaining in the quarter. The lead went up to nine points when Abby Sharp got inside for two and a 23-14 lead. Shawnee's defensive pressure prevented Rancocas from getting any offense going. The Red Devils would manage to get a few shots off, but the Lady Renegades crashed the boards well to control the ball.

Shawnee started the final quarter with a six point lead. Their defense allowed them to get the biggest lead of the game when Martin's basket with 4:18 remaining in the game gave Shawnee a 35-23 edge. Now pressured to get the quick shot off and time ticking away, Shawnee continued with their pressure defense. Rancocas Valley (11-1) was handed their first lost of the season and Shawnee (11-1) remained on top for their division in this non-league game. Liz Martin finished with a game high 15 points and Brook Kelley added 12 points for Shawnee. Khalilah Smith had a team high 11 points and Kecia Rosado added 10 points for Rancocas Valley.

Photos by Art Redd