GREENVILLE – Cape Henlopen used a combination of strong defense and a distinct height advantage to take a commanding lead over Saint Mark’s on the way to a 62-32 win in girls basketball on Dec. 5 at A.I. duPont High School. The teams met in the opening game of the annual Tiger Tip-Off Tournament.
Olivia Markey gave the Spartans a short-lived lead with a mid-range jumper early on, but Vikings guard Faith Re answered with a three-pointer, igniting a 9-0 run. Re followed her make by feeding Hayden Hudson for a layup, then she grabbed a steal and took it in for two more. Cape, which forced several turnovers in the opening eight minutes, added single free throws by Maya Yngve and Havyn Greene to extend the run before Madiella Keefer scored for Saint Mark’s.
The Vikings scored the first 19 points of the second quarter to put the game away. Re had eight of them, and six other players entered the scoring column. Defensively, Cape made it difficult for the Spartans to get many clean looks at the hoop. Sadie Neylon ended the drought for the Spartans with a bucket with 1:26 left in the half.
The Spartans enter the season with a roster dominated by youth. There are four sophomores and four freshmen on the squad. In addition to Neylon, Natalie VanDzura and Maddie Fausnaugh scored their first high school points. Fausnaugh had seven points, all in the fourth quarter.
Sophia Karch (St. John the Beloved Parish) led the Spartans with nine points, followed by Neylon with eight. Saint Mark’s (0-1) will meet A.I. duPont in the consolation match of the tournament on Saturday at 1:15 p.m.
Re scored 16 for Cape, all in the first half. She was joined in double figures by Greene (11) and Yngve (10). Cape (1-0) will play Smyrna on Saturday at A.I. at approximately 4:30 p.m.
Photos by Mike Lang.
