Cape Tech senior happily trades aches and pains for team’s first win

By BRIAN CUNNIFF

WILDWOOD — Liza Pellini was pretty beat up following the Cape May Tech girls basketball team’s game against Atlantic Christian at the Boardwalk Basketball Classic on Thursday.

The senior forward banged knees with an opponent at one point, jammed a finger that had already been injured earlier this season and also took a knee to the stomach while in a scrum for a loose ball on the floor.

But Pellini’s Lady Hawks team won, so …

“I’ll take getting hurt like that all the time if we get the win,” Pellini said with a smile.

Pellini mixed 15 points with eight rebounds and three blocked shots to lead Cape May Tech to its first win of the season, a 43-27 decision over Atlantic Christian in a first-round game in the tournament’s Tony Calogero Memorial Bracket.

The victory was also the first for first-year head coach Amber Waddington.

Ahead by a point at the half, Cape May Tech took control of the game through a 15-2 run over the course of the third quarter. The Lady Hawks went ahead by 16 points early in the fourth quarter, saw Atlantic Christian close to within nine with three minutes remaining, then pulled away at the finish for the 16-point win.

“We went into this hoping to get our first win of the season, said Pellini. “We definitely executed on offense well but we also knew that the main focus of this game had to be defense. I think we came out strong. I think we played a good four quarters.”

Emily Pasceri added 12 points for Cape May Tech (1-3). She made 7-of-8 attempts from the foul line.

Cape May Tech will face St. Dominic Academy for the bracket title on Friday at 5:15 p.m. St. Dominic beat Camden County Tech, 41-29, in its first-round game.