VIDEO: Murphy, Troiano help Lady Warriors eventually take control over upset-minded LCM

Posted: January 25th 2026

By BRIAN CUNNIFF

CapeAtlanticLive.com

ERMA – The Wildwood High School girls basketball team entered Saturday’s game with local rival Lower Cape May as the favorite.

The Lady Warriors played like it at the game’s outset, building a 14-2 lead.

Lower Cape May, however, roared back and gave its fans something to cheer about.

Nearly as fast Wildwood built its 14-2 lead, Lower Cape May responded with a 14-2 run of its own to tie the game at 16-16. Wildwood eventually led by four at halftime but didn’t truly pull away until the fourth. The Lady Warriors ended up posting a 56-34 victory, a scoreline not indicative of how competitive most of the game actually was.

“I wasn’t surprised how hard they played against us,” Wildwood senior guard Angela Wilber said. “When two local teams play, no matter what the skill set everybody has, everyone is going to come out and battle.”

Ultimately, Wildwood’s scoring depth wound up being a major difference. Wilber and Rebecca Benichou, Wildwood’s two leading scorers, were held without a field goal in the opening half. But the Lady Warriors got a major boost from Addison Troiano and Joelle Murphy, who combined for 15 points in the first half. Troiano finished with a game-high 15 points to go with six steals and Murphy wound up with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Benichou, after scoring just two free throws in the first half, made a pair of three-pointers in the second half and another pair of free throws to finish with 10 points.

“Murphy got us down low and Troiano made some jump shots and that was really big for them,” Lower coach Scott Douglass said. “We came in hoping to limit Wilber and Benichou and we did a really good job of that in the first half. But then they got loose a little bit in the second half, especially Benichou. But Murphy and Troiano both had really good games and that hurt us.”

Lower trailed by just six points with a minute to go in the third quarter but Wildwood got two baskets at the close of the period, including a layup by Troiano at the buzzer, to push its lead to 10 points going into the final quarter. Wildwood then outscored Lower by 16-4 in the fourth, highlighted by seven points from freshman Aubrey Bradway.

Brooke Robinson posted 12 points and 13 rebounds for Lower (5-9). Ainsley Reed added eight points.

“I’m very proud of our girls and their effort,” Douglass said. “This is the best effort we’ve had in a while. But we just haven’t been able to put together four quarters yet. That’s something we have to get better at.”

For Wildwood (13-4), the victory was the team’s ninth straight.

Wilber believes the team’s winning streak has come through the players’ willingness to share the basketball. Saturday’s game was a prime example, as Wildwood recorded assists on 16 of its 21 field goals. Wilber led the Lady Warriors with five helpers.

“I think sharing the ball has really been a crucial part of why we’re winning,” Wilber said. “Everyone’s playing their part on offense and hustling on defense.”