Dialog reporter
WILMINGTON – St. Elizabeth kept up with the run-and-gun style of Msgr. Scanlan for almost three quarters of their girls basketball game on Dec. 30, but the visitors from New York finished up the third quarter with seven straight points on went on to a 53-44 win in the St. Francis Healthcare Cup bracket of the Diamond State Classic at the St. E Center.
Dymond Collins brought the Vikings to within a point at 33-32 with a free throw, but Kayla Morris converted a missed St. Elizabeth shot into a Crusaders field goal, and Daja Wentz followed with a free throw. The score was 40-32 after three.
Scanlan added another score in the first minute of the final quarter before Alexis Lee ended the run. A Sha’Nia Davis three-pointer and a free throw from Alanna Speaks made the score 42-38, but St. Elizabeth would get no closer.
The Crusaders caused problems for the Vikings all day with their halfcourt trap, led by speedy point guard Channel Williams, and the height of Morris and Kateri Poole came into play on both ends. Morris scored 12 points, all in the second half, and her four field goals were scored from the paint. Poole added nine points.
Lee finished with 15 points for the Vikings, who fell to 2-3. Alanna Speaks added 10. The Vikings will meet Cumberland Valley (Pa.) in the seventh-place game of the St. Francis Healthcare Cup on Friday at 9:30 a.m.
Msgr. Scanlan will meet Redondo Union (Calif.) on Friday at 11:15 a.m.
