Paone and Ocean City girls win to stay unbeaten
When she came out of the locker room at halftime, Alexis Paone's sore knee was wrapped up in so much tape that, from the stands, it looked as if there was more tape than leg.
When she came out of the locker room at halftime, Alexis Paone's sore knee was wrapped up in so much tape that, from the stands, it looked as if there was more tape than leg.
There was a moment late in the first quarter when the refs had to call a timeout to check on Paone.
Not because she asked for it. But they saw the way she hit her knee.
And as much as the senior guard tried to hide it, she was in pain.
All the refs got from her was a stubborn "I'm fine." And play resumed.
After the game - a 40-29 win for Paone's Ocean City girls' basketball team over Washington Township - Paone again shrugged off the injury.
"I've played through worse," she said. "I just really hate sitting out."
Coach Paul Baruffi confirmed: "A lot of people don't know that, last year, she played the end of the season with a separated shoulder. She's one of the toughest kids you'll ever meet."
Players such as Paone - in attitude and athletic ability - are the biggest reason the Red Raiders are now 17-0, Baruffi said
"We have athletes on this team," Baruffi said. "They're smart, they're tough. Everybody knows their responsibility and everybody works in line with each other on this team."
What stands out most about Ocean City is its methodical play and the pride the team takes on defense.
The only suspense left late in the game Saturday was whether Washington Township would break 30 points - a level that only four teams have reached this season against Ocean City.
"Defense is huge for us," Paone said. "And defense is my thing - I like holding people to as little amount of points as possible. It's a way to challenge myself."
Paone scored six of her game-high 13 points in the third quarter Saturday after having her leg treated, helping her team establish a comfortable double-digit lead.
Like many of her teammates, basketball isn't Paone's primary sport. She is headed to Liberty University on a field hockey scholarship.
But there are things you can take from field hockey, she said, and apply to basketball. Particularly on Ocean City, when every movement from every player seems deliberate.
"I think [field hockey] helps with the way you can read cuts and use your peripheral vision," she said. "And we play that way: Everybody is moving and rotating and filling in the spots they need to be. It works for us."
Senior guard Grace Sacco is one of the team's few players who considers basketball her primary sport. And it shows. Her skills are a bit more polished, and her court vision and passing ability are among the best in South Jersey.
On Saturday, she helped control the tempo on both ends of the floor.
"I like being a floor general," she said. "If I can get my teammates wide-open layups and get people involved, then I'm doing my job."
Not being able to control the flow of the game, Washington Township coach Jenn Natale said, was her team's downfall.
The Minutemaids (11-7) had a height advantage over Ocean City - as most teams do - but the team is young, and it couldn't match Ocean City's chemistry and athleticism.
"Their press was just tough for us to break," Natale said. "Ocean City controlled the tempo - they're a tough, veteran team."
That's what has the Red Raiders so excited for the final stretch of the season. They won South Jersey Group 3 last year.
And, led by a scrappy, polished group of athletes, they think that's the least of what they can accomplish this year.
Washington Township 11 3 7 8 - 29
Ocean City 14 8 14 4 - 40
WT: Emily Johns 7, Deanna Balsama 4, Kiley Gelston 11, Gabrielle Turco 7.
OC: Alexis Paone 13, Michaela Baker 7, Grace Sacco 5, Tori Rolls 2, Kilie Wyers 4, Sadie Ford 3, Rosalia Daddi 6.