Sussex Academy girls’ basketball recognizes players and cheerleaders
A 54-36 loss to Delmar didn’t spoil the party for the Sussex Academy girls’ basketball team, as the program celebrated its two senior players, Emiley Bisaha and Falisha Amisial, and two senior cheerleaders, Ava Huerta and Kenzie Harmon.
Sussex Academy coach Rayona Benson said it’s been a joy to watch her two players grow.
“They were a part of my first year – they were basically my babies – so I'm seeing them go from being freshmen, sophomores to their senior year,” Benson said. “Falisha has changed her game completely from her freshman year to being a defensive specialist and shooting threes, and for Emily, going from a role player to literally being the main player for two years now and adding to her bag.”
“It's really nice to see where we came from when we started, and a lot of the girls sort of don't know how it was before this year,” Bisaha said. “From where it started to now, it's a lot of progress, and I love to see it.”
“Em and Falisha consistently want to get better; they're always texting me, ‘Can we do this? Can we do that? Can we practice when we don't have school? Can we have open gym?’” Benson said. “They're always around, always trying to touch a basketball.”
Bisaha led the team with 11 points in the Delmar loss. She and Amisial were substituted out to a round of applause from friends, family and their team. Amisial also got applause before the final whistle when she hit a three and a long two.
“Unfortunately, we did not win, which was kind of a bummer, but we are moving on,” Amisial said.
Down the stretch, despite the score differential, the Seahawks' intensity remained high.
“My girls, we are there for each other no matter what; we pick up what is let down and we just keep playing,” Amisial said. “We keep going, we keep fighting for the win.”
“Don't give up! If we want to win, if we want to be close, we have to work; nobody is going to hand it over to us,” Benson said. “I think they understand that; they've been in games where they fought the whole time and they've won, so they know it's possible.”
