Cape girls’ basketball wins Henlopen Conference Championship
The Cape girls’ basketball team avenged its loss to Woodbridge in the 2020 Henlopen Conference Championship with a tight 37-36 win over the Raiders Feb. 27. It was the second championship over the Raiders in the last three seasons for the Vikings.
It was a physical game, with 42 fouls called.
The contest was too close for comfort, as both teams battled through first half. The game was tied 12-12 after the first quarter, and Cape took a three-point lead into the half.
The second half was a back-and-forth race to the finish, but Cape’s Mehkia Applewhite stole the ball in the waning seconds to secure the victory.
Junior forward Morgan Mahoney hit the game-winner with 31 seconds left off a Julia Saleur pass. Mahoney had a double-double, snagging 11 rebounds to go along with 11 points, a block and a pair of assists.
“It feels so good,” Mahoney said. “Coach said to be who you are. We handled the pressure and bounced back at the end and came out on top. This is what we were playing for, and we had to play every game like we were playing tough competition.”
“It’s just feels amazing to get my first American championship,” said Saleur, a native of France. “I’m so happy we got to play a huge game like this. We were just so hyped and played with our hearts. We knew it was going to be a tight game and the score was going to be tight. We’ve worked so hard.”
Applewhite led all scorers with 17 points. She also recorded five rebounds, four steals and a block.
“A lot of people doubted us because of our conference competition this year,” Applewhite said. “We had some tough competition from Woodbridge, and we got the W.”
Saleur hit for seven points, seven rebounds and two assists. Ella Rishko tallied seven rebounds, three steals, two assists and a basket.
“It’s a great way to finish my conference season,” said senior Destiny Kusen. “I’m looking forward to the state tournament.”
Reghan Robinson led the Raiders with 10 points.
“I’m happy we got the win,” said coach Pat Woods. “Last year, we didn’t handle the foul calls on us, and it affected everything. We were just nervous, and we didn’t play how we normally play. You have to execute offensively, so that was revealed to us. You learn from what you didn’t do well and work on it. We’ve got a couple of days to work on it.”
The DIAA State Tournament begins Wednesday, March 3. The 10th-seeded Raiders host No. 23 Lake Forest, while the No. 7 Vikings take on either St. Georges or Sussex Academy at Sussex Tech.
