Paul VI solidifies top spot, downs Gloucester Catholic

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Paul VI may have graduated three starters who played pivotal roles in a 27-1 record and Non-Public A championship appearance last season, but the Eagles haven't taken a step back by any stretch of imagination.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Paul VI solidified its status as the undisputed No. 1 team in South Jersey with a convincing 58-42 triumph over No. 2 Gloucester Catholic on Saturday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“Play hard. That's the motto of our team: to compete,” Paul VI coach Orlando Hidalgo said. “Our girls are in excellent shape. Our defense wore the other team down, and you could tell in the second half that they were exhausted. We're in great shape.“</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/tortreports/status/2015155287724797991?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/tortreports/status/2015155287724797991?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Eagles <em>(12-0, 3-0 in Olympic-National)</em> got off to a streaking start, leading 19-10 after the first quarter and 34-20 at intermission before outscoring the Rams 24-22 in the second half. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1686379,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/01/IMG_7475-crop-5523x3627-1769285794.jpeg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-1686379" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>[player_tooltip player_id='789189' first='Brooke' last='Stagliano'] fueled Paul VI offensively as the Eagles defeated Gloucester Catholic in non-league action on Saturday.</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='789189' first='Brooke' last='Stagliano'] led all scorers with 24 points, while [player_tooltip player_id='1047167' first='Jordyn' last='Patrick'] added 13 points and posted six rebounds for the Eagles.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/tortreports/status/2015151448242176112?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/tortreports/status/2015151448242176112?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"I'm on top of the world. Now we're the number one team in South Jersey," said Stagliano, who knocked down three threes. "We expected this to be a close game, but we really shut them down, and they just got tired."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='601279' first='Talia' last='Shumate'] led Gloucester Catholic with 14 points. The Rams fell to 11-3 with the setback.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“It's another great team that we played against, and it helps us prepare for where we want to be," Hidalgo said. "The whole goal is to be in the state championship, so playing teams like this is very good to see where we're at, especially with having so many young players coming through.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->