BEAR – St. Elizabeth’s girls basketball team faced a tall task on Jan. 28 when they traveled to Caravel. The Vikings and Buccaneers were tied at 26 heading into the fourth quarter, but Caravel – the No. 2-ranked team in the state according to 302 Sports – pulled away while holding St. Elizabeth without a field goal for more than four minutes on the way to a hard-fought 41-37 win.
It was a seesaw affair for most of the first three quarters. The Vikings – ranked fourth in the state – used an aggressive defense to cause several Bucs turnovers, and they showed patience on offense, limiting the opportunities for Caravel. Taniyah Reese stole a Caravel inbounds pass late in the first and went all the way for a layup, giving the Vikings an 8-7 lead after one.
Jordin Tate gave the Bucs a 12-8 lead with a second-chance layup several minutes into the fourth, but St. Elizabeth responded. ZaMylah Seda-Owens’ scored a driving bucket almost four minutes in, and Reese followed that with a three-point shot for the lead. Back and forth the teams went until three late free throws gave the Bucs an 18-15 halftime advantage.
Caravel opened up a seven-point lead early in the second half, but the Vikings used their defense to get back into it. After four free throws, the Vikings caused a turnover from Caravel, which ended up in the hands of ZaMylah Seda-Owens, whose three-pointer tied the game. Another Bucs miscue a bit later resulted in a St. Elizabeth lead after Anissa Harris capitalized on a third-chance shot down low. Two Buccaneers free throws ended a 9-0 St. E’s run and set up the decisive fourth.
Richardson and Skylar Bolden each hit a pair of free throws as the Vikings went up, 30-28. Caravel’s Cherish Bryant, however, turned two steals into transition layups, adding a free throw on the first. St. Elizabeth could add just a single free throw through much of the fourth, falling behind, 40-33, until Tori Richardson scored with 18.8 seconds to go. Makayla Sullivan scored after a Vikings steal to cut the Bucs’ lead to three, but Caravel sealed the with one last free throw.
Bryant led Caravel with 15, and Tate added 10. Caravel (11-1) visits A.I. duPont on Thursday at 4 p.m.
For the Vikings, Reese had nine, while Seda-Owens and Anissa Harris each had eight. St. Elizabeth (9-5) wraps up a six-game road trip on Thursday at Archmere. Tipoff is at 4 p.m.
Photos by Mike Lang.
