VIDEO: Two gyms produce one victory as Middle moves into South Jersey championship game seeking threepeat

Posted: March 6th 2025

By BRIAN CUNNIFF

CapeAtlanticLive.com

CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE – The Middle Township High School girls basketball team needed two gymnasiums to beat Barnegat in a South Jersey Group II semifinal game Wednesday evening.

After the Lady Panthers built a 31-21 halftime lead, the heavy rain and wind that hit the area just before the contest started produced a leak in the roof above the gym. With water discovered to be dripping onto the floor as the teams hustled to their respective locker rooms for the intermission break, school officials made the decision to move the remainder of the contest to the school’s much smaller “old” B gymnasium.

Middle went through some tense moments in the third quarter and the early part of the fourth quarter as Barnegat tried to rally, but the Lady Panthers eventually asserted full control to win going away, 59-45.

“I think closing this out was a product of our schedule,” Middle coach John Leahy said. “We play a lot of good teams and our conference is really good, so we’re used to being in close games. We’ve played in plenty of games where we’ve taken a punch and we’ve had to respond.”

The result sends Middle into the South Jersey title game for the third straight year. The two-time defending champions will attempt to complete a threepeat Saturday when they host Haddon Heights at 6 p.m.

“We’ve talked to 12 months now about trying to threepeat,” Leahy said. “You work hard all offseason and in the summer and during the season and this is what you’re working toward. (Haddon Heights coach) Lauren (Kendra) does a great job. They took us to overtime in a playoff game last year and they gave us everything we could handle and I wouldn’t expect anything different on Saturday. We need to have two good days of practice now to prepare. But we’re comfortable playing on our home floor. I know we’ll get a great crowd. Hopefully, we can come in here and finish it off.”

Middle quickly swelled its lead to 13 points early in the third quarter against Barnegat, but the fourth-seeded Bengals rallied behind senior forward Zemirah Enalls to get back in the game. Enalls scored nine points in the third quarter as Barnegat pulled to within four. Three-point baskets by Abbey Cappelletti and McKenzie Palek helped Middle stop the run, but Barnegat still managed to get to within six points at 44-38 at the start of the fourth quarter.

“Abbey hit a really big three and Kenzie made one and that really helped us,” Leahy said.

Reagan Powell then took over at the start of the fourth quarter. She hit a short baseline jump shot, a layup and a free throw as Middle pushed its lead to 49-38. The Lady Panthers then made enough free throws in the final three minutes to never allow Barnegat to threaten again.

Powell finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds to pace Middle (26-5). Cappelletti and Palek each added 13 points and Sarah Farrow produced 12 points and 17 rebounds.

Enalls led Barnegat (20-9) with 22 points and 22 rebounds. 

The mid-game change of venue certainly made for a unique circumstance. Leahy competed in the old gym as a player during the 1988-89 and 1989-90 seasons.

“Back when I played in the ‘80s, everyone sitting in the stands had bigger hair and pastel sweaters,” he said with a laugh. “But we’ve practiced in there six or eight times over the last three weeks, so obviously it wasn’t foreign to us. Barnegat adjusted a little quicker in the third quarter than we did but we eventually figured it out and were able to win. But it was a great atmosphere with the fans being packed in like that.”