Dialog reporter
WILMINGTON – St. Elizabeth’s girls basketball team got off to a blistering start in its game Feb. 16 against William Penn, then hung on to defeat the Colonials, 43-37, in nonconference girls basketball at the St. E Center. It was the Vikings’ third straight win and seventh in their last eight games.
Nearly half the game’s scoring took place in the first quarter, in which the No. 4 Vikings outscored seventh-ranked Penn, 21-16. St. Elizabeth received scoring from a number of players, including Alanna Speaks, Alexis Lee and Dymond Collins. The Colonials countered with Quatierra Deshields and Alize Felton, who had a three-pointer among her field goals in the opening eight minutes.
The shooting touch both teams possessed disappeared for the most part after the first quarter. The Vikings struggled with turnovers as well, but they managed to stretch the lead to seven on a fast-break layup by Collins toward the end of the half. At intermission, their lead was five points.
The lead was as high as eight in the third when Lee drained a layup, but Felton brought it back down to five with her second triple of the night. It was 39-31 St. Elizabeth with 2:45 to go in the game when the Colonials mounted a comeback.
William Penn scored, then caused a Vikings turnover and converted that into two quick points, cutting the deficit in half. The Colonials got the ball back on another Vikings miscue, and Shanira Mitchell hit two free throws to make it 39-37 with 1:32 to go. The Penn fans on hand filled the St. E Center with noise, and St. Elizabeth coughed the ball up on the ensuing inbounds play. This time, however, William Penn was not able to take advantage.
Vikings coach Dan Cooney called his fourth timeout of the quarter, imploring his players to take care of the ball. When play resumed, Penn nearly picked up another steal, but Lee hit a free throw with 51.5 seconds to go and, after a missed shot by the Colonials, Collins also made one of two from the charity stripe, this one with 34.1 ticks left on the clock. The Vikings’ lead was four. They would add two more points for the final margin.
Collins led St. Elizabeth with 13 and Speaks had 12. The Vikings improved to 13-3 and host Delaware Military Academy on Thursday at 6:45 p.m.
For the Colonials, Felton and Deshields reached double figures with 12 and 11, respectively. The loss snapped a three-game William Penn winning streak and left the team at 12-6. Next up is Hodgson on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at home.
