The Indians have now won four straight BCT titles.
When the Burlington County Tournament was established three seasons ago, Lenape was the winner of the inaugural girls competition after knocking off Moorestown in the final.Fast forward to Friday afternoon’s title rematch, and it was once again the Indians, No.
16 in the NJ.com Top 20, who reigned supreme over the Quakers. Behind a 40-point, 17-rebound explosion from junior El-Anita Joe-Samuel, Lenape defeated Moorestown, 64-45, to remain the only team that has lifted the Burlington County Tournament trophy. With a season high in points, Joe-Samuel displayed her ability to score from all over the court, slashing her way to the bucket while mixing in some mid-range jumpers and a pair of 3-pointers. She attributed her success offensively to finding a well-balanced attack against a Quakers defense that was constantly throwing extra help at her. “I would say my driving a lot, I had a lot of layups and they were fouling me,” said Joe-Samuel, who finished 16-17 from the free throw line. “My free throws were the main factor. I was making them and also I had some threes which was good. They were going in. Everything was going good for me and I’m glad I was able to lead us to the win.” Trailing 15-7 after the opening eight minutes, Moorestown clawed its way back into the game late in the second quarter, going on a 7-0 run led by Analyse Intenzo and Mazey Hinshillwood to head into the break down only five. The third quarter belonged to the Indians, however, as they outscored the Quakers 25-10 to take a commanding 20-point advantage into the fourth. After his team struggled in the second quarter to generate quality chances in the offensive end, Lenape head coach Sean McAneny said his halftime talk revolved around the necessity to dictate the pace of the game. “It was basically we let them control the tempo early,” McAneny said. “Moorestown does an excellent job at that. They did that to us in the regular season, they were beating us up and down the floor and we basically said we need to get back on defense, but then on offense we need to play our own game and set our own tempo and not let them control how quickly we play.” He added: “When we finally tried to slow it down and set up some good screens for one another, move the ball a little bit more, I thought we were able to find space and create some openings for our players and they did a nice job of finishing when they got the space they needed.” While Joe-Samuel led the way, the Indians also received nine points from Olivia Watkins and eight from Ryleigh Nichols. McAneny not only praised Joe-Samuel, but commended those around her for allowing the star to produce high-percentage opportunities, especially in the third quarter. “ is so talented that she can finish from anywhere,” McAneny said. Moorestown had a ton of help in the lane, she was able to finish through contact and that’s something special about her, she can finish from anywhere." “I also think it’s a credit to the other girls who were able to create space for her, who move the ball,” he continued. “They also were able to attack and I think that’s what makes our team so special right now. We have some elite level talent but we’ve got other girls around her who are phenomenal players and when we’re clicking like that, we can put up some points.” In the defeat, Intenzo scored a team-high 12 points for Moorestown, followed by an 11-point outing for Elyse Anstey and eight for Tess Murphy.“I can’t say enough good about our group, but credit to Lenape they were tremendous,” Howley said. “El-Anita had her night, kudos to her, I thought we could’ve done a better job but our girls compete like heck and she was just really good tonight. Unfortunately we didn’t make a couple open ones but our girls are tough as we could ever want them to be and I’m proud of our group.” With one game left in the regular season for Moorestown before it begins postseason play begins next week, Howley’s message to his players will be the same as it has been all year long as they look to return to the Group 3 final. “We’ve gone through a lot of adversity this year with losing and other stuff,” he said. “We have a bunch of athletes that play their butt off and I think the message is, and has continued to be, we’re gonna keep playing as hard as we possibly can which we continue to do.“ For Lenape, the focus now shifts to the Group 4 tournament, where like the Quakers, it will look to avenge a loss in the final. “The mindset is we got this,” Joe-Samuel said. “We’ve been winning games and we just have to keep going in with that same fire into the playoffs. Keep playing hard, keep our composure and doing the little things. That’s our mentality.”
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