Injury to Gannon puts the Eagle season in its proper perspective BY WARREN RAPPLEYEA Staff Writer The Middletown High School South girls basketball team heads into the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III tournament this week having weathered a most difficult season. Fifth-seeded Middletown South was scheduled to meet Holmdel, the 12th seed, on Tuesday. While the Eagles posted a 19-3 record and won the Shore Conference's Class A Central Division for the second straight year, the season seemed less important after Jillian Gannon suffered a severe head injury on Jan. 12 against Manchester. After driving to the basket on a fast break, Gannon slammed head-first into the wall. The junior guard spent more than three weeks in the hospital, including several days in an induced coma. The road to recovery has been slow, but Gannon returned to school last week. "Jillian's injury really changed our focus and the way we approach games," coach Tom Brennan said. "It's something you hope teenagers won't have to deal with because it makes them grow up much faster. I'm very proud of the girls and the way they've handled it; they've been very resilient and they're learning to appreciate every moment they have on the floor." Shortly after Gannon's injury, Middletown South was slated to play in the Battle of the Boardwalk. Brennan discussed it with his team and they decided to play. The Eagles showed up wearing home-made versions of Gannon's uniform and were supported by Julie Gannon, Jillian's older sister, who did not play in the game, but came to offer moral support. "We just have an amazing group of kids," Brennan said. "They really care about each other and Jill's injury brought that out. The girls only played because they felt Jill would have wanted them to. They just couldn't get Jill out of their minds." Gannon is expected to be back on the court for her senior year. Meanwhile, the Eagles reached the final in the Battle of the Boardwalk before losing to Neptune. South also extended its A Central winning streak to 25 straight games, marking the second year in a row they won the division with a perfect 12-0 mark. Middletown South made its way to the quarterfinals of the Shore Conference tourney, where they lost to Neptune, 69-61, despite a 16-point effort by Julie Gannon. The Eagles only other loss came against Trenton Central, in the finale of that team's holiday tourney. Brennan's team has been generally using a seven-player rotation. Sophomore forward Danielle Pankey averages 10 points to lead the team in scoring and has also played well defensively, the coach noted. Shea Taggert and Christina Longo are both averaging eight points and a little over six rebounds. Julie Gannon is a strong outside shooter and she leads the team with 28 three-pointers. Junior Shawna Hagen has played well defensively and has been a force under the basket, averaging 6.5 rebounds. Brittany Hoffman has run the Eagles offense with precision. The senior point guard leads the Shore Conference with 149 points, an average of about seven per game; commits on average just two turnovers per game and she can score when needed. Twice Hoffman has scored 16 points and on two other occasions she hit for 14 points. "Brittany has really been a force for us," Brennan said. "She's always on her game and I'm really impressed that she turns the ball over so infrequently." Hoffman and her teammates are looking to make a strong run in the state tournament, after getting knocked out early a year ago by West Windsor. The winner of the Middletown South-Holmdel game will meet the victor of the Voorhees-Union Hill game on Thursday.