WILMINGTON — The offense for Archmere’s girls basketball team had nearly disappeared in the second half of the Auks’ game at Howard on Dec. 12. Through the first 12 and a half minutes, the Auks had scored just four points after the intermission, allowing the Wildcats to tie the score at 23.
But Archmere responded to the adversity, holding the Wildcats scoreless for the final 4:37 of the game and scoring the remaining seven points in a 30-23 win.
The Wildcats trailed at the half, 19-13, and the deficit grew to nine at 22-13 after a Lucy Oliver field goal five minutes into the third quarter. Howard chipped away at the lead, however, thanks to their pressure defense that caused several turnovers. A runner by Kaniah Murray-Chambers and three points for Destiny Smith closed the gap to 22-18 after three.
Murray-Chambers nailed a three-pointer to open the scoring in the final quarter, but neither team was able to find the shooting touch. The Auks were held to a single free throw in the first four and a half minutes of the quarter, and when Je’Vae Chamblee followed up on a missed shot, the game was tied with 4:37 to go.
A minute later, Brynn Bastian-Pastore scored inside for the go-ahead points on a nice feed from Emily Mayo. The two paired up again the next time down the floor to double the lead to four.
Neither team was able to add any points until the final minute of the contest. Archmere rebounded a missed shot with about 50 seconds remaining, and the Auks burned some 20 seconds of that before Oliver got open underneath for a layup. Sara Denning blocked a Wildcats shot at the other end, and Oliver ended the scoring with a free throw in the final seconds.
The Auks had an 11-1 lead after one, with Denning hitting two inside shots and Oliver adding an old-fashioned three-point play. There were plenty of fouls from both squads, and half of the points in the first came on free throws. Howard warmed up a bit in the second, taking advantage of Auks turnovers to cut the halftime deficit to six. The Auks managed just one field goal in the quarter but were able to score six times from the free-throw line.
Oliver had 14 to lead the Auks, and she had 20 rebounds. Archmere improved to 3-1 and will be off until Dec. 27, when they face Polytech at 1:30 p.m. in the Viking Invitational at the St. E Center.
For the Wildcats, Murray-Chambers had 7, and Smith added 6. Howard (1-1) hosts Middletown on Thursday at 4:45 p.m.
All photos by Mike Lang.
