Mainland girls' basketball rallies from big deficit to advance to Group 3 final, Wildwood falls

Tom McGurk, Cherry Hill Courier-Post

The Mainland Regional High School girls' basketball team certainly has a flair for the dramatic.

The Mustangs earned the opportunity to play for a state title when they erased a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter, culminating with Sydney Stokes' bucket at the buzzer for a 45-43 victory over Ewing in the Group 3 semifinal at Ewing.

Mainland (30-1) will play Chatham (28-3) in the championship game, slated for 4:30 p.m. on Sunday at Tom River North's RWJ Barnabas Health Arena on the campus of Toms River North High School. Chatham knocked off Teaneck 46-44 in the other semifinal.

Mainland is seeking its first state title since 2019 in just its fourth-ever appearance in the championship game.

Mainland's Kasey Bretones puts up a shot during the state Group 3 girls basketball semifinal playoff game between Mainland and Ewing played at Deptford High School on Wednesday, March 6, 2024.
Mainland's Kasey Bretones puts up a shot during the state Group 3 girls basketball semifinal playoff game between Mainland and Ewing played at Deptford High School on Wednesday, March 6, 2024.

Down 33-21 going into the fourth quarter, Mainland battled all the way back to tie the score at 43-43 and had the ball with five seconds left in regulation.

Senior Kasey Bretones took the ball and drove down the left side of the lane. She put up a shot but it was blocked by a Ewing defender and right into the hands of Stokes, who sank the game-winning basket.

Mainland's Sydney Stokes puts up a shot during the state Group 3 girls basketball semifinal playoff game between Mainland and Ewing played at Deptford High School on Wednesday, March 6, 2024.
Mainland's Sydney Stokes puts up a shot during the state Group 3 girls basketball semifinal playoff game between Mainland and Ewing played at Deptford High School on Wednesday, March 6, 2024.

State Group 1 Semifinal

Shore Regional 48, Wildwood 42: The Warriors bolted to a lead in the first quarter but couldn't maintain the momentum as they were bounced from the tournament in the semifinal round at Deptford.

Junior Macie McCracken knocked down 17 points for Wildwood while Angela Wilber (10 points), Rebecca Benichou (9) and Sophia Wilber (6) rounded out the scoring.

Wildwood finished its season at 23-8.

Shore Regional (18-11) will play University (26-3) for the state title on Sunday at Toms River North. Tip is set for 2 p.m. University advanced with a 57-17 win over Park Ridge.

Wildwood's Kaliah Sumlin grabs a rebound in front of Shore's Kimi Sayson during the state Group 1 girls basketball semifinal playoff game played at Deptford High School on Wednesday, March 6, 2024.
Wildwood's Kaliah Sumlin grabs a rebound in front of Shore's Kimi Sayson during the state Group 1 girls basketball semifinal playoff game played at Deptford High School on Wednesday, March 6, 2024.

Tom McGurk is a regional sports reporter for the Courier-Post, The Daily Journal and Burlington County Times, covering South Jersey sports for over 30 years. If you have a sports story that needs to be told, contact him at (856) 486-2420 or email tmcgurk@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @McGurkSports. Help support local journalism with a digital subscription.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Mainland girls' basketball advances to state Group 3 title; Wildwood falls

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