WILMINGTON – A 15-point run in the first quarter set Padua on the right path on the way to a 57-43 win over Howard in a girls basketball battle on Jan.13 on Broom Street. It was the Pandas’ fourth consecutive win.
Lykira Davis scored the game’s first points, and Ha’Lena Griffin followed that with a three-pointer, but that was it for a while for the Lady Wildcats. The visitors went cold from the field, with many of the shots taken from beyond the arc, and the Pandas turned many of those misses, along with forced turnovers, into transition opportunities.
Padua employed a running approach throughout the first quarter, and it paid off with layups and trips to the foul line. Mallory Kenher (St. Mary Magdalen Parish) was on the receiving end of a pass after a steal for Padua’s first field goal. Gianna Graham (St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, Glen Mills, Pa.) scored the next four points on free throws, and she added two field goals during the team’s big run.
Davis connected on a three-pointer in the final 10 seconds of the quarter, but Graham beat the buzzer with a three. That was the Pandas’ lone bucket from outside the key.
Padua continued to build their lead in the second quarter as the Lady Wildcats struggled from the field. Lily DiMarco (St. John the Beloved Parish) and Kai Dwirantwi both found room in close, taking advantage of several offensive rebounds. Padua took a 33-15 lead into intermission.
Howard got an immediate three-pointer from Davis to begin the second half, although a short time later, Padua had gotten its lead up to 20. The Lady Wildcats then began their best stretch of the evening, scoring 13 straight points to cut their deficit to seven. The aerial assault included three additional threes, one each from freshmen Kennedi Miller and Autumn Cottrell, the other from Aaliyah Johnson.
DiMarco took a pass from Molly Mager (Our Lady of Charity Parish, Brookhaven, Pa.) and knocked down a mid-range field goal to end Howard’s run. Still, at the end of three, the Padua lead was half of what it was at halftime.
The Pandas regained their edge and scored the first seven points of the fourth. They did so as in the first half, causing the Lady Wildcats into turnovers and pounding the ball inside. DiMarco, Graham and Dwirantwi scored all but two of the team’s 14 points in the quarter.
DiMarco and Graham each finished with 19 points, and Dwirantwi had 12. Padua (5-6) will take on Chester (Pa.) on Jan. 19 at 7 p.m. at Delaware Tech’s Stanton campus.
For Howard, Davis led the way with 12 points, and Miller added 10. The Lady Wildcats (4-3) visit McKean on Thursday at 3:30 p.m.
Photos by Mike Lang.
