Cape girls’ basketball wins Henlopen Conference Championship
For the third time in four years, the Cape Henlopen girls’ basketball team has claimed the Henlopen Conference Championship trophy, this time with a 45-31 victory over the Spartans of Lake Forest Feb. 26 in Dover.
The Lady Vikings started out with a tough, tenacious defense and never let up, as they held the Spartans to just six points in the first quarter and kept the pressure on throughout the game. It was needed as their offense sputtered, missing 21 lay-ups in the contest.
“We knew they were crushing everyone on the glass,” said Cape coach Pat Woods. “So I told them, ‘If you win the glass, you win the game.’ We also knew they hadn’t faced a lot of man-to-man pressure, so we did what we do best. Concerning the lay-ups, I can’t imagine that will happen again, but there is something to be said about shooting as poorly as we did and still winning. Sometimes you gotta win ugly and move on.”
Morgan Mahoney led the Vikings with 15 points, seven rebounds, four steals and five blocked shots.
“This is the seniors’ last chance to get this conference championship,” said Mahoney. “And we did it. It feels great. Now we want to go to the state tournament.”
Mehkia Applewhite scored 13 points, grabbed five rebounds and made seven steals.
“Our coaches had us ready for this game,” said Applewhite. “The coaches watched at least five of their games. We knew Lake’s moves before they made them. We were really prepared. ”
Senior Julia Saleur tallied eight points, while snagging six rebounds and four steals.
“I just think we need to believe in ourselves, trust each other and play with heart,” Saleur said.
Junior guard Ja'Onna Lee put in eight points, five rebounds and three steals. Senior Lauryn Head was a force underneath with five rebounds.
Ella Rishko, the defensive queen, put wide-reaching pressure around the court, collecting six steals and four rebounds.
“We want everything bad,” said Rishko. “That’s what we’re here for, to win.”
Spartans senior Gabrielle Almonte led Lake with 16 points.
“It feels good for the seniors going out with a little bang,” said Applewhite. “But I think we expected to win. We know how good we can be. It would be nice to leave with our biggest goal throughout the program, a ring and the state championship.”
Tenth-seeded Cape will host No. 23 Red Lion at 7 p.m., Wednesday, March 2, in the opening round of the DIAA state tournament. The winner will travel to No. 7 Delmarva Christian Friday, March 4.
