By TOM WILLIAMS

One of the top girls basketball players in South Jersey will play her final season at Ocean City High School.

After missing her junior year at Wildwood Catholic because of a knee injury, Lola McGonigle is attending classes at OCHS.

Already committed to Holy Family University in Philadelphia, McGonigle will enter the 2026-27 season with 817 career points, 137 three-pointers, 263 assists and 109 steals. In her last season as a sophomore at Wildwood Catholic, she scored in double figures in 24 of 29 games and had 20 or more points in 11 of those games. Her career high is 30 points against Absegami her freshmen year. She made seven three-pointers in a game twice. And Wildwood Catholic was 45-10 during her two seasons.

There have been a number of other changes at Wildwood Catholic Academy.

Steve DiPatri, the all-time leader in wins in Cape-Atlantic League girls basketball and No. 15 in New Jersey with 618 victories, has left Wildwood Catholic and taken the head coaching job at Deptford. Also gone from the Crusaders program are are juniors Dani Daley (to Absegami), Damiya Carter (to Bishop Eustace) and Juniper King (to Middle Township).

Katie Caruso, a Hall of Fame player at WCA and assistant coach with DiPatri at the school for more than a decade, has been named head coach.

For Lola McGonigle, she will enter her final season of high school basketball healthy again, with great stats and, as an Ocean City resident, she can now walk to school.