The ACS Varsity Boys’ and Girls’ Basketball Teams are the 2023 Tri-State Christian Athletic Conference Champions! Both teams won hard-fought battles on February 25 in their championship games, which were held in the ACS gym. The No. 1-seeded Lady Cougars remained undefeated, beating Gloucester County Christian School 48-43, and the No. 2-seeded Varsity Boys’ Team pulled off an upset, beating No. 1-seeded Pilgrim Academy 54-45, a team that had been undefeated all season. It was a night to celebrate!
This is the fourth consecutive year that our Varsity Boys’ Team has brought home the championship trophy. The Lady Cougars last won the TSCAC championship in 2021. ACS advanced to the championship games by handily winning their semi-final matches on February 23 against King’s Christian School.
Congratulations to Varsity Boys’ head coach Drew Carney, assisted by Dan Carney and ACS 2013 alumnus Ben Chapman, and to Varsity Girls’ head coach and ACS 2012 alumnus Kaylee Breunig, assisted by Dara Kimmerley, for their hard work and dedication. This was an exciting and memorable season.
Eight ACS players were named TSCAC All-Stars for the 2023 season and were recognized at the end of the championship games. The four Girls’ Varsity All-Stars are — Evangelina Kim and Paige Noble (1st team), Reyna Lewis (2nd team), and Becca Kelley (honorable mention). The four Boys’ Varsity All-Stars are — Noah Stokes (1st team), Caleb Vogel (2nd team), and Charlie Costello and Noah Gibbs (honorable mention).
ACS also received two other special recognition awards from the conference. Senior Paige Noble received the 2023 TSCAC MVP Varsity Girls’ Basketball Award. She was one of the team’s leading scorers and a force to be reckoned with both on offense and defense. Paige will be attending Cairn University in the fall.
Coach Breunig received the 2023 TSCAC Varsity Girls Basketball Coach of the Year Award. This is the second time she has received this award. The first time was in the 2017-2018 season when she was in her first year as head coach of the Lady Cougars.
During this season, Coach Breunig was also honored for earning her 100th win on February 15 when the Lady Cougars defeated Oakcrest 54-24 in a nonconference game. In her 6th year as head coach, Coach Breunig has now led the Lady Cougars to two TSCAC Conference championships and five first place finishes in the regular season. She also received the TSCAC Coach of the Year Award in the 2017-2018 season, her first year as head coach. Coach Breunig is a 2012 ACS alumnus who was a strong varsity player and team leader during her four years on the Lady Cougars.
In the Championship varsity girls’ game, junior guard Evangelina Kim led the team in scoring with 20 points and pulled down 8 rebounds. Senior forward Reyna Lewis scored 16 and also had 8 rebounds. Senior guard Paige Noble had 7 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 steals. Freshman forward Gianna Flynn scored five and Flynn and junior forward Becca Kelley each had five rebounds.
In the Championship varsity boys’ game, three players were the top scorers — junior Noah Gibbs, with 15 points, sophomore Noah Stokes with 14 points, and senior Caleb Vogel with 13 points. Gibbs and Stokes also led the team in rebounds, each pulling down 12, and were strong on defense, with Gibbs grabbing 3 steals and Stokes getting 2 blocks. A key contributor to the team’s success in the final quarter of the game was consistently sinking their baskets at the foul line.
At the conclusion of the games, the ACS teams did the traditional “cutting down of the nets,” which each player and coach cutting a piece of the net to take home as a souvenir of their victories.
