NEWARK – St. Elizabeth is going to hang another state championship banner in the St. E Center following a 40-34 win over Sanford in the girls’ basketball state championship game on March 14 at the Bob Carpenter Center. The Vikings needed a stirring comeback in the fourth quarter to get there, and, led by a “monster” pressure defense, they got there.
It was the school’s seventh championship in girls basketball, the first since 2021. That year, St. Elizabeth also defeated Sanford.
St. Elizabeth struggled through the first quarter, committing nine turnovers while scoring just one point. That came on an Anissa Harris free throw with 28.9 seconds to go, and it ended Sanford’s game-opening scoring streak at 10. The Vikings, however, would come back strong in the second quarter.
Harris scored on an offensive rebound for the team’s first field goal, and Skylar Bolden got on the scoreboard a few minutes later, also on a follow shot. Neither team was shooting particularly well; Sanford would finish the second with just three points, all on free throws. The Vikings trailed, 10-9, entering the final minute of the first, but Bolden – playing with three fouls – hit a pair of three-point shots after Warriors turnovers to send St. Elizabeth into the locker room with a 15-13 halftime lead.
Sanford tied the game at 17 early in the third on a floater by Asia Adams, shortly before Bolden went to the bench with 6:45 left in the third after picking up her fourth foul. The Warriors took advantage, outscoring the Vikings, 13-5, over the rest of the quarter. Aslyn Merrell did much of the damage, going inside and scoring seven points in the eight-minute frame. She put the Warriors ahead, 22-19, after an old-fashioned three-point play. Nyla McLendon added six points during the third, helping the Warriors to a 30-22 lead after three.
“We’re never going to quit,” Taylor said of having to take Bolden out. “We played a lot of summer league games without Skylar, so we were prepared. Coaching Skylar is a blessing. She can do so many things. I’m going to miss her.”
The Vikings went to work as the fourth quarter started and Bolden returned to the floor. They were in what coach Tye Taylor called a “monster press,” one he would prefer not to have to employ, throughout, and it gave Sanford fits.
“We wanted to save that for the last impossible. We play pressure defense, but we have different levels of pressure. We went to our extreme, which is our monster defense. It’s controlled chaos, and it worked for us,” Taylor said.
St. Elizabeth gradually chipped away at the lead. Za’Mylah Seda-Owens, held to three free throws – all in the third quarter – was busy at the free throw line, took control. After being held to three free throws in the third quarter, she went to the free throw line 10 times in the fourth, and she scored two field goals as well.
Many of their offensive opportunities were made possible by their press. The Vikings double-teamed the Warriors as soon as the ball was sent inbounds, and that resulted in several turnovers. Harris made a twisting layup after one of them with 3:50 to go, putting the Vikings on top, 31-30. When they weren’t forcing turnovers, they were blocking the Warriors’ attempts, finishing with seven on the afternoon.
Sanford couldn’t get anything to fall, and they lost three players to foul trouble as the quarter progressed. As the clock dwindled, the St. Elizabeth student section grew louder and louder, finally celebrating with their players once the clock hit all zeroes.
Bolden said she continued to play her game after her return in the fourth. She eventually fouled out with just over a minute to go.
“He told me to play my game, just keep playing our defense,” Bolden said. “Our defense is our offense. Defense wins games.”
She clutched the state championship trophy tight after falling short last year.
“I just had to do it. It’s my senior year. We just had to get it done. Just to show everyone who we are and what we can do,” she said. “All the doubters, all the haters. Look where we are now.”
Harris, who entered the game after Bolden picked up her fourth foul, said the thought from the Vikings was “just keep us alive. We were down for a couple quarters and we let them come back. But that’s not how we play, and we just had to pick it back up.”
Seda-Owens finished with 16 points, all in the second half, and Bolden went for 15, with 10 of those coming in the second quarter. Makayla Sullivan had five steals and three blocked shots. St. Elizabeth finished the season 20-3.
Amaya Wilson, who played key minutes in both the semifinal and the championship game, said she knew the Vikings had a fourth-quarter comeback in them.
“I told them in the locker room. I like us over everybody. They doubted us. They said we could not win. I like us now, and I liked us then,” she said.
For the Warriors, Merrell had 11 points, and Adams added eight. Sanford finished the season 20-2.
Photos by Don Blake.
