Cape girls’ basketball outduels Spartans 44-43

The Cape girls’ basketball team defeated Saint Mark’s 44-43 to advance to the quarterfinals of the state tournament. They will host Woodbridge Monday, March 6, in a rematch of the Feb. 25 Henlopen Conference Championship game, when Cape defeated the Blue Raiders 31-30. The Vikings have won their last two games by a total of two points.

“We knew we had two fouls to give,” said Cape coach Pat Woods. “I wanted them to dribble around a bit and waste time, then foul. It didn’t work out quite like that. When we went to the foul line, I told them to play aggressive on the boards. Our fans were great tonight, and we’re so grateful they came out. Sussex Tech were such good hosts. It felt like a home game.”

Ja’Onna Lee led the Vikings with 17 points, five rebounds and four assists. Sophomore Faith Re hit for 11.

“It was nerve-racking,” said sophomore Faith Re. “But we stayed together and played great defense.”

Sophomore Hayden Hudson grabbed eight rebounds.

“This is really cool,” Hudson said. “We’re such a young team and going to the quarterfinals is really cool. Playing a real tough team like Saint Mark’s will definitely help us.”

Mya Maull and Amalia Fruchtman each grabbed five rebounds and teamed for 10 points.

“This was like our Stephen Decatur game,” Maull said. “It showed that we can handle pressure, like being down a point or being up by just one point. Coming down to the last few seconds, we knew we had to guard them closely so their shooters couldn’t get the ball and get a shot off.”

Lulu Rishko played great defense forcing turnovers.

“There were so many nerves tonight,” said Rishko. “All we want to do is keep playing with our teammates. We have to work harder on Monday night.”

Sophia Baffone led the Spartans with 16 points while her teammate Lauren McDonald scored 12.

Note: This game was played at Sussex Tech because the Cape gym was being used for the DIAA Individual Wrestling Championships.