Cape girls’ basketball saddles Riders by 39
The Cape girls’ basketball bench players contributed 23 points and 17 rebounds in a 61-22 victory over Caesar Rodney. Cape moves to 3-4, while the Riders drop to 2-5.
The Vikings went to the bench early and often, inserting 10 different players into the game. But they didn’t lose any scoring power or defensive prowess, as they cruised to a 22-3 first-quarter lead and carried it to a 35-11 halftime score.
The wrecking ball didn’t stop there, as the Vikings outscored the Riders 26-11 in the second half to put an exclamation point on the Northern Division win.
“I feel good,” said freshman Ally Diehl, who recorded 12 points, four rebounds and two blocks. “This is the first game that I really played with confidence. It’s really fun to play with Mairead [Rishko] and Kayden [Borge Williams]. We’ve always played together in all of the other sports we play, [so] it made it pretty special. This game will definitely build our confidence for the tough games coming up.”
Macy Steinwedel and Rishko each grabbed three rebounds.
“I’m really happy that I could contribute tonight,” said Rishko. “I wasn’t scoring, but I just tried to help the team in other ways. We worked well together in the game, and we are getting more experience. It’s helping us gain confidence for down the road.”
Starting center Amalia Fruchtman led all scorers with 16 points, eight rebounds and three blocks.
Hayden Hudson continued to be a force down low, tallying six points and six rebounds. She was on the floor for nearly 20 minutes to help facilitate the game with the younger bench players.
“I feel like having someone with more experience on the floor with the younger players helps to calm them down,” said Hudson. “If they are having a problem, I can help them through it and let them know they aren’t alone. We did a lot of good things tonight, but we need to keep building on it.”
Junior Faith Re and senior Mya Maull each scored eight points. Freshman Amara Fruchtman had six points. Havyn Green and Lulu Rishko each snagged five rebounds, with Rishko collecting five steals.
“We anticipate playing everyone; I think we’re really deep,” said Cape coach Pat Woods. “There wasn’t much of a difference with most of the girls out there tonight. We need to consistently do what we do. We all see what the younger ones can do. They just have to believe it. We have talked about all of our goals being still intact and available to us. We still have to work toward them. We want to try to win the North, try to win the conference and make it to the final four. Those goals are still within reach.”
The Vikings host Smyrna Tuesday, Jan. 9, for Cape’s Teacher Appreciation Night. The Vikings defeated the Eagles 47-38 Dec. 12.
Maya Yngve and Jurnee White each hit for 14 points and teamed for 12 steals in the Cape junior varsity team’s 42-10 victory over the Riders. In all, the Vikings JV garnered 26 steals and 22 rebounds in the contest. Freshman Harper Mamele scored eight points. Jerny Haines dished off four assists. Sydney Whetzel, Kate Hill and Amara Fruchtman were a force on defense, teaming for 10 rebounds and getting nine helpers.
