Cape girls’ basketball falls to Dover 64-59
The Cape girls’ basketball squad was hoping for at least a share of the Henlopen North division title Jan. 25 in its second meeting with Dover. The Vikings were looking to avenge a Dec. 19 48-44 loss to the Senators.
The team played almost flawless basketball for 26 of the 32 minutes Jan. 25 at home. Butt he talented Senators stepped up their game to outscore the Vikings 22-5 in the final six minutes to garner a five-point win.
“We played really well for a lot of the game,” said Cape coach Pat Woods. “To have 20 assists on 25 made shots is really good. Our turnovers were down, but the ones that happened were at crucial moments. I think a lot of my frustration comes from my expectations. Expectations are a funny thing. I expected us to be further along than we are. I expect our returners to handle the pressure better. I expect us to win all these games, never falter, never make a mistake, etc. My son once said he is best when he goes into a race with no expectations other than to just try his best. I think that is a good approach. We often expect life to go one way and then it suddenly turns out differently. So what do we do? Pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and get back to work.”
Amalia Fruchtman tallied 22 points, two rebounds, three assists and four steals. Faith Re hit for 14 points and six rebounds. Freshman Mairead Rishko and seniors Mya Maull and Lulu Rishko teamed for 15 assists.
Junior Hayden Hudson passed the rebound record of former Cape players Abby Hearn and Carlin Quinn, as she snagged 12 boards to go along with 11 points and four blocks.
“I think that since we were up so much that once Dover started hitting their shots we started to shut down,” said Hudson. “We saw our lead diminish and it got to us. We put pressure on ourselves. We just have to keep playing hard and keep working.”
“I think in the beginning we had a lot of enthusiasm,” said Fruchtman. “We are getting super energetic, but tonight at the end of the game we got a little flustered.”
The Cape JV squad won 45-20 to move to 7-0 on the season.
Maya Yngve and Journee White scored 11 and 10 points, respectively, and each pulled in five rebounds. Amara Fruchtman tallied eight points and eight rebounds. Sydney Whetzel collected nine rebounds, six points and six steals. Harper Mamele, Kate Hill and Jerny Haines teamed for 10 points, seven rebounds and four steals.
Dan has worked for the Cape Gazette for more than 30 years as a photographer and reporter, covering high school sports and happenings around eastern Sussex County. He won a photography award from the National Newspaper Association, and numerous awards from the Maryland, Delaware, D.C. Press Association. A Delaware native, Dan graduated from Cape in 1972 and returned as a teacher and coach in the 1980s. He retired from the classroom in 2016. He was inducted into Cape High’s Legends Stadium in 2016. In his spare time, Dan enjoys spending time with his wife, two sons, grandchildren and dogs.
