Royals take down Laurel 60-57
Wrapping up their tour of the Henlopen South with a 60-57 victory over Laurel, the Delmarva Christian girls’ basketball team ended its battles with local nonconference rivals 3-0.
“It was definitely great to get this win, especially because we've been playing some conference games recently, so it's been nice to get some out-of-conference competition,” said Royals senior Bella Marinelli. “That was definitely a good game to attest that we're getting back to where we were.”
Delmarva Christian led 16-12 after one quarter, but the girls had trouble with Laurel’s box-and-one zone in the middle two frames, leading to a 43-39 Bulldogs lead heading into the final quarter. One of the bright spots was freshman Avery McCoy, who scored seven of her 16 points in the second quarter to keep the Royals afloat.
“Avery stepped up in a mighty way. She wasn't scared of the moment; she shot her shot, since she was there,” said Royals coach Frank Roach. “She put the ball down on the ground when she needed to and she played great defense on the front court, so she's going to be a very good player for us.”
Eve Bohinski started heating up in the third with 12 points, creating space and chances for the girls around her in the fourth.
“Our last week of practice was pretty solid; we've been really hustling, really putting them on the line a lot,” Roach said. “When it comes to this, it comes to fruition when you put in that hard work, and you see it happen at the end of games – the execution, the focus and all that goes into a play.”
A press defense became difficult for Laurel to solve in the fourth quarter. Marinelli, senior Layni Dukes and junior Eva Elliott benefitted from the pressure and scooped up steals for a quick transition.
“I just knew bringing up the tenacity would help the the rest of our team bring up tenacity,” Marinelli said. “It helped that we got those steals, to get those turnovers, to convert in transition to help us get those points.”
The senior dropped seven points in the final quarter, flashing some moves in the post while also knocking down a key three in the comeback.
Elliott helped cap off the comeback with a clutch three in the closing moments.
“We just had contributions from everybody, so we thank them for understanding that it's going to take a team effort, especially to get 60 points,” Roach said. “That's probably our high of the season.”
