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Sports

Quakers Stun Timber Creek, Advance to SJ Group 3 Final

Moorestown's Emily Filoon scores 15 as the Quakers find a way to hang on against Timber Creek, 57-52.

ERIAL — By the time that Stephanie Toy approached the free-throw line with 5 seconds left, Saturday's game outcome was no longer in doubt for the Quakers.

Her two shots were just insurance that there would be no last-second heroics from Timber Creek's Jasmine Martin or any of her teammates. In sinking both of them, Toy put the game out of reach and sent Moorestown to the South Jersey Group 3 Finals as they defeated Timber Creek, 57-52. The Quakers will play at Ocean City at 6 p.m. Monday.

It was the Quakers' seventh victory in a row and perhaps their most important of the year, so far.

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"Never would I have expected this," said Quakers' coach Chris Hill. "They were resilient, they came back, they don't want the season to end and they are doing it together."

Freshman Emily Filoon led the Quakers with 15 points, but it was really a balanced effort. Seven Quakers made the scoring sheet, with Stephanie Toy adding 10. Marisa Randazzo and Kellen McGinely chipped in eight points each.

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"All along, different kids have been stepping up," said Hill, who had high praise for how her team was not fazed each time Timber Creek made a run.

It didn't come easy but each time, the Quakers managed to regain control.

Moorestown had to deal with Timber Creek's senior star, Jasmine Martin all night. Martin scored a game-high 32, but the Quakers zone kept her quiet when it mattered the most, down the stretch.

"They were packing it in," said Martin, who has played her last game for the Chargers. "They wouldn't let us get to the basket. Our shots weren't really falling. It just didn't go our way."

The pivotal point of the game came with 43 seconds left. With Timber Creek trailing 51-49, Charger senior Sierra Peters was called for a technical foul after chasing after a loose ball. The technical, which ended Peters' night, swung the momentum and perhaps even the outcome.

"That technical," Chargers' coach Donna Clark said under her breath, "it was a real momentum changer."

The coach tried to deflect the responsibility of the game to the entire team. She stressed how the win against Kinsway might have given her team a false sense of security. Or even that Martin's scoring might have discouraged her other shooters from taking the open shot.

Either way, it was Moorestown who fought and held onto the victory.

"We were very composed," Hill said about her team. Her voice hoarse from the game. She smiled in disbelief as she talked about her team's uncanny way to stay alive in this tournament. "I just can't believe it."

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