WILMINGTON — When St. Elizabeth visited Ursuline on Jan. 8, the Vikings ran into a Raiders team that shot well on offense and wreaked havoc on defense on the way to a 19-point victory. The rematch took place at the St. E Center on Feb. 16, and the situation played out much the same way, only this time St. Elizabeth was the team doing the damage.
The Vikings came out smoking, with Farrah White leading the charge, and defeated the Raiders, 50-28, as the season moved into its final stages. With the win, St. Elizabeth improved to 16-2 as it played its final regular-season home game.
The game started on the right foot for the Raiders, with Ella Gordon knocking down a quick three-point shot. But the Vikings took over the offense, with White and Sydney Hilliard hitting outside, while White did what she does, taking the ball inside for a few contested layups. The Raiders stuck around in the first, and a three-pointer by Chamira Marshall-Brothers pulled them to within six at 16-10. But Ciszkowski drained a 12-foot runner as time expired, and St. Elizabeth would not look back.
The Raiders got shots throughout the second quarter, but they were not falling. St. E’s first possession was a long one, chewing nearly a minute off the clock, before White hurt Ursuline with an old-fashioned three-point play. Hannah Kelley scored off an inbounds pass three minutes into the quarter, but those proved to be Ursuline’s lone points of the second.
The Vikings ended the half on a 10-0 run that started with a Tavi Prado free throw. Ciszkowski made a triple, and Hilliard added another free throw. White followed with a steal and a drive three-quarters the length of the court for a layup. She was fouled again and made that free throw to extend the lead to 31-12, and Ericka Huggins finished the run by grabbing an offensive rebound and cleaning up the mess.
The Raiders found some offense in the third with Kelley and Sophia Filipowski scoring four points each, but the Vikings made certain there would be no drama on this evening. A Ciszkowski three and an unlikely four-footer by Huggins as she was bumped to the floor helped extend the lead to 27.
White had 18 and Ciszkowski 16 to lead the Vikings. Huggins also finished in double figures with 10. St. Elizabeth is back in action Thursday afternoon at 4 against First State Military at Providence Creek Academy in Clayton.
For Ursuline, Gordon and Kelley each had eight. The Raiders (10-7) host Saint Mark’s on Saturday at 7:15 p.m.
All photos by Mike Lang.
