South girls already looking toward next hoops season BY WARREN RAPPLEYEA Staff Writer The Middletown High School South girls basketball team returns seven key players froma squad that posted a 17-8 record this winter- so even better things may be on the horizon. Coach Tom Brennan's Eagles showed plenty of grit in what he termed a "transition" year during the pre-season. Middletown Southmade itsway to the semifinals of theNJSIAACentral JerseyGroup III before losing 71-58 to Freehold Borough on Saturday. The Eagles also reached the second round of the Shore Conference tourney. "We got in an early hole against Freehold andwewere never able to dig ourway out of it," Brennan said. "The girls were down by 17 points and they battled hard; three times we cut the lead to single digits. I'm proud of them because they refused to quit." Middletown South heads into next seasonwith one of the top-scoring players in the Shore in Danielle Pankey. The junior guard seemed to get better with every game. Over the final seven contests Pankey averaged 24 points, and she concluded the campaignwith an 18-point average. Along the way, Pankey pumped in 33 points, including 17 in the fourth quarter, to key theEagles opening roundwin overBrick Memorial in the Shore tourney. In addition, she scored 21 points in the season-ending loss to Freehold Borough. "Danielle had a great finish, but she was really doing the same things all season long," the coach added. "Not only does she score, she averaged four or five assists and she just makes the players around her better." Pankeywas often on the courtwith three freshmen, who all distinguished themselves well. Guard Meghan McGuinness averaged six points and over the final 10 games also averaged 27 minutes of playing time. Her fourth quarter jumper gave the Eagles their first lead in the fourth quarter of the first CJ Group III game against Burlington County Institute of Technology The Eagles never looked back. Kerri Kinsella, a 5-8 forward, averaged five rebounds and 2.5 points, while fellow frosh Kerry Haspel averaged three points and a like number of assists.Apair of sophomore guards, Kelly Scheurer and Kerry Healy, saw significant minutes as well. Brennan noted that the two spearheaded Middletown South's comeback attempts against Freehold Borough. Both players averaged about four points and four rebounds, he said. The coach credited junior guard Taylor McFarland formaking key defensive contributions throughout the season. "Our younger players really showed a passion for the game and it seemed like a different one would step up whenever we needed something,"" Brennan said. "They gained a lot of experience this year and they gave it all on the floor." Middletown South will graduate two vital seniors, center Shawna Hagen and guard Jill Gannon, whom Brennan cited as the team's leaders.Hagen was a force under the hoop, averaging eight rebounds and three blocks to go with eight points-pergame. Gannon,who came back froma severe head injury, ended up averaging 10 points, five boards and three assists. She also keyed Middletown South's triumph over Nottinghamin the second round of CJ Group III with a 17-point, 10-rebound effort in just 15 minutes of play. "We're going to miss Shawna [Hagen] and Jill [Gannon] but we're in really good shape going forward and this teamcan," the coach said. "This was a learning experience for our whole team and everyone got to see how Jill handled adversity and kept going. It gave us all a different perspective about what is really important."