MILLTOWN — Last year, Saint Mark’s girls basketball team saw its season end with a one-point loss against Cape Henlopen in the opening round of the DIAA tournament. The 14th-seeded Spartans and No. 19 Vikings met again this year, with Saint Mark’s holding off a valiant comeback attempt for a 53-49 win on Feb. 28 at Saint Mark’s.
The Spartans took a two-point lead into halftime, then scored the first six points of the second half, much to the delight of the student section. Their lead did not go below six points the rest of the quarter, and a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Sophia Baffone gave the home team a 10-point lead going into the fourth.
Daly O’Donoghue scored from underneath the hoop to begin the quarter, and the lead appeared to be comfortable at 41-29. But Cape responded with the next six points until Gianna DiFebbo’s mid-range jumper slowed the Vikings’ charge.
A three-point shot by Mya Maull cut the lead to 43-38, and Cape turned up the defensive pressure. After a held ball gave the ball back to the Vikings, Faith Re drained a three, and the Saint Mark’s lead was two with 4:40 to go. The Vikings came up with a pair of steals but were unable to convert, but finally, after a defensive rebound, Hayden Hudson tied it with a short field goal. Cape had opportunities to take the lead twice, but they could not get two shots to fall.
Lauren McDonald, playing her final home game, put the Spartans on top for good with a driving shot with 2:15 to go. A charging call on Cape gave the ball back to Saint Mark’s, and Baffone hit a 15-footer to make it a two-possession game.
Baffone pushed the lead to five with a free throw, but, after the teams traded steals, Re hit from deep once more, pulling Cape to within two a 50-48. Cape Henlopen nearly stole the inbounds pass, but Sophia Karch added another free throw with 28.7 seconds left.
The Vikings, needing a three to tie, had a chance to equalize from the free throw line instead when Maull was fouled outside the arc as she shot. She made one of three free throws, and Baffone clinched the win with a pair of free throws a few seconds later.
An early rebounding edge helped Saint Mark’s build a small lead in the first quarter. Ava Frohnapfel had a pair of buckets, including a nice reverse after taking a pass from McDonald, but Cape’s Amalia Fruchtman singlehandedly kept the Vikings close by scoring all 10 of their points in the quarter, which ended in a tie.
McDonald, held scoreless in the first, found her stroke in the second, scoring six points. DiFebbo provided points off the bench, hitting the game’s first three-pointer, then giving the Spartans a two-point lead with the half’s final bucket.
Baffone led the winners with 20 points, including 16 in the second half. DiFebbo and McDonald added 9 each. The Spartans (13-8) will visit No. 3 seed Ursuline on Friday at 7 p.m. The teams met twice this season, a pair of Raiders wins.
Fruchtman had 16 to lead Cape, and Re had 14. The Vikings finished the season 14-6.
Photos by Mike Lang.
