The first time the Barnegat girls basketball team squared off with Lacey this season, the Bengals were not so much outmatched as they were out of rhythm.

“We were shut down during the Christmas break and for the first few days of January,” said head coach Tammy Nicolini, whose squad took a 16-5 lead against the Lions on Jan. 27 but ultimately lost the contest, 51-40. “I had COVID and a bunch of our players had it, so we had one practice in nine days.