WILMINGTON — St. Elizabeth pulled away from Delaware Military in a Diamond State Athletic Conference girls basketball game on Jan. 24, then withstood the Seahawks’ comeback efforts in the second half in a 46-41 victory. St. Elizabeth became the first Delaware team to defeat DMA this season.
The game was tied, 10-10, early in the second quarter when the Vikings created some separation. Ericka Huggins, who dominated inside, particularly in the second, grabbed a rebound and laid in a follow shot to put St. E’s up by two. Sarah Mazalewski followed with a baseline jumper. A steal by Farrah White a minute later led to a pass to Deziree Hayes, who fed an open Huggins underneath for another layup and a timeout by Delaware Military.
Maya Hill temporarily stopped the Vikings run with a scoop shot, but St. Elizabeth responded by scoring the next 10. Six of those came in the second quarter, and all were scored down low by Huggins, including a third-chance bucket that made it 22-12 at the break.
White found Olivia Justison for a field goal to open the second half, and White went coast to coast for her own points, increasing the lead to 14.
The Seahawks found some offense from Sophia Manuel. After a timeout, Manuel connected for three points from the top of the circle. After a St. Elizabeth miss, Manuel dialed long distance again, this time from the wing, cutting the Vikings’ lead to 26-18 with 4:58 to go in the third. DMA scored the next three points as well, pulling to within five.
The Vikings were able to stretch the lead to double digits again, but Jamie Cella grabbed an offensive rebound and scored to get the Seahawks within eight heading to the fourth.
A Milan Paulin free throw 30 seconds into the fourth made the score 34-25, but then Manuel got hot again. She hit consecutive threes, and with 5:29 to go, DMA trailed by just three. Huggins, who had been held off the scoreboard in the third quarter, quieted the home crowd a bit after that. She used her height advantage to score the next two field goals, both inside after offensive rebounds.
The Vikings did not let the Seahawks threaten again. White made six free throws in the final minute, helping to offset a long three-pointer by Tavi Prado. Hill sank another three at the buzzer for the final margin.
Huggins led all scorers with 22, and she also dominated in rebounding. Defensively, she caused the Seahawks to reconsider going inside time and time again. White had 12. The Vikings improved to 4-5 and host Saint Mark’s on Thursday at 6 p.m.
For the Seahawks, Manuel had 14, while Hill scored 13. The Seahawks (9-3), who had a five-game winning streak snapped, remain at home to welcome Middletown on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
All photos by Mike Lang.
