The Lower Cape May Regional High School girls basketball will enter unchartered waters for its program when the team plays in its first-ever South Jersey championship game Monday night.

Trailing by eight points to Shawnee early in the fourth quarter, the Lady Tigers used a swarming press defense and incredible late-game free-throw shooting to overtake the Lady Renegades, 43-38, in a South Jersey Group III semifinal in front of a packed house at the Erma school.

Lower Cape May made 15-of-16 free-throw attempts in the final quarter, including a 7-for-8 performance by Janzell Rodriguez, to stun a Shawnee team that had led from the start of the game until less than two minutes remained.

The Lady Tigers' press forced turnover after turnover, leading two a couple of layups and numerous free throws as the team finished the game on a 15-5 run, two days after scoring the final nine points of the game to beat Moorestown by a point one round earlier.

"Our press was unbelieavable," said Lower coach Roy Wright, normally the most well-dressed coach in South Jersey but who had ripped his suitcoat and tie off and untucked his shirt at various points of the game. "I think the kids just made up their minds that weren't ready to go home yet."

Rodriguez led the Lady Tigers with 16 points. Victoria Wermuth added 12.

The South Jersey title game will have an all-Cape-Atlantic League flavor as the Lady Tigers will face Ocean City, which defeated Seneca in the other semifinal.