PIKE CREEK — Archmere’s girls basketball team might have been hitting from three-point territory and scored nearly 60 points at McKean on Jan. 13, but the Auks’ big victory was largely due to their defense. The Auks did not allow the Lady Highlanders to reach double digits in any quarter and rolled to a 58-17 victory.
The home team held its only lead of the afternoon when Janay Smith hit one of two free throws early on. After that, Archmere forced the Lady Highlanders into numerous turnovers, and those defensive stops turned into points.
In fact, the first bucket of the day belonged to Lauren Kim, who was the beneficiary of a steal by Maddie Wallace for a coast-to-coast layup. Kim then recorded a steal of her own and converted that into a free throw. The Auks would score six more points consecutively before Khalia Hart hit a mid-range jumper for McKean’s first field goal, which came with 2:10 left in the quarter. Madison Stewart responded with a three-pointer, the first of eight on the day for the Auks.
Kim opened the second with a triple in what would become the Auks’ highest-scoring quarter of the game. Fiona Teaney heated up from distance, drilling a pair of threes to expand the lead to 25-9. The half ended with Abby Jones all alone under the basket for an easy two; the score was 32-12 at the break.
With a large lead, and playing without starting forward Izzy Gioffre, Archmere coach Dan Pisani was able to get minutes for everyone on the roster. Six non-starters scored in the fourth quarter, with the final two three-pointers coming from Jill Bale and Brigid Hamberger. Hamberger hit hers with a minute to go while absorbing hard contact, and she completed the four-point play.
Ten Auks reached the scoreboard, including three in double figures: Teaney (14), Stewart (12) and Kim (11). Archmere improved to 6-4 and plays next on Thursday at home at 6:15 p.m. against Delaware Military.
For McKean, Khaya Hart led the way with eight. The Lady Highlanders (3-7) travel to Concord for a 3:30 p.m. tip Thursday.
