WILMINGTON — St. Elizabeth followed a middling first half with an explostion of offense in the third quarter, going on to a 46-40 win at Padua on Dec. 9 in the Vikings’ season opener.
St. Elizabeth, wearing new black uniforms, took advantage of some early Pandas turnovers to get out to a 7-0 lead. ZaMylah Seda-Owens had both Vikings field goals in the first, a three-pointer and a transition layup following a steal that resulted in a traditional three-point play.
Padua surged back after scoring for the first time on two free throws nearly five minutes into the game. Their final points of the first came on a three-pointer by Mallory Kehner (St. Mary Magdalen Parish), and they led by one after one.
The Vikings’ scoring drought continued into the second, but Padua struggled as well from the field. Kai Dwriantwi hit a pair of free throws, and Gianna Graham’s three lifted Padua into a 14-12 lead. The Pandas, however, would manage just one more field goal over the final four-plus minutes of the half.
St. Elizabeth tied the game at 14 on a slashing layup, and she followed that with a three as the Vikings took the lead. Their advantage was three at the half.
It took two minutes for either team to score after halftime, but Makayla Sullivan’s first three-pointer ignited St. Elizabeth. After two Dwirantwi free throws, Vikings freshman Taylor Tucker followed with consecutive layups in traffic. Sullivan finished the scoring with her third triple of the quarter, and the lead was a dozen with eight minutes to go.
The Vikings exhibited some clock management in the opening minutes of the fourth, but Padua quickly cut the deficit to six. The Vikings went more than five minutes without a point until Anissa Harris hit two free throws, and two field goals by Seda-Owens pushed the lead to 10, with all six St. Elizabeth points coming in a 23-second span.
Padua, running short on time, put up one more comeback attempt. Lily DiMarco (St. John the Beloved Parish) scored six straight by herself on an old-fashioned three-point play and a long-distance jumper. They could manage just one free throw, however, in the final 90 seconds, the Vikings left with a hard-earned victory.
Seda-Owens led the Vikings with 15, and Skylar Bolden and Sullivan each had 9. St. Elizabeth (1-0) plays its home opener on Saturday against Early College at 1 p.m.
For the Pandas (1-2), Dwirantwi had 11, and Kehner and DiMarco each had 10. Padua is home on Friday against Garnet Valley (Pa.) at 6:30 p.m.
Photos by Mike Lang.
