The Lower Cape May Regional girls basketball team shrugged off a sloppy first half to play a brilliant third quarter and overtake Oakcrest Friday night, leading to a 50-43 victory that officially qualified the Lady Tigers for the state tournament.

Lower, which won its third straight, improved to 9-7 with the victory. Teams must have a winning percentage of .500 or better by Saturday, Feb. 7 in order to qualify.

Janzell Rodriguez scored a game-high 16 points and went 8 for 10 from the foul line in the fourth quarter to lead Lower Cape May, which trailed by three at the half but went on a game-changing 17-6 surge over the third quarter. The Lady Tigers shot 22 for 33 from the charity stripe as a team. Marissa Staley added eight points for Lower Cape May.

The Lady Tigers play Mainland on cutoff day at the Future Stars Shootout showcase event. Below are video highlights from the game, including a post-game interview with Lower coach Scott Douglass, shot and edited by Matt Ulmer.


In a boys game from Friday night ...
Oakcrest 61, Lower Cape May 44: In a surprising result in Mays Landing, Oakcrest went on an incredible 22-5 run in the second quarter to take a 19-point lead at the half en route to the easy victory. Lower (9-7), which went into the game having won five of six games, got 17 points from Brandon Pascucci and 13 from Mike Pittman. Oakcrest (7-11), whih had lost four straight going into the game, received 22 points from Kevin Miller.


Oakcrest at Lower Cape May Girls 2008-09 from Matt Ulmer on Vimeo.