Cape girls cap comeback with strong finish to sweep Smyrna

A slow start probably wasn’t what the Cape girls’ basketball team had in mind for their final regular-season game against Smyrna Jan. 13, but without it, the Vikings faithful would not have been treated to an epic, 16-point comeback and a 58-54 win.

“They were just hitting shots; we weren’t hitting shots,” said senior Amalia Fruchtman. “We got a little bit unlucky; our chemistry wasn't really flowing, but I think as the game went on we started to trust each other more. We started running our plays more fluidly, and I think the game just started flowing for us more easily.”

Smyrna doubled on Cape up in the first stanza, 12-6, and expanded their lead to 33-20 at halftime, leading by as much as 16 points in the second quarter. Fruchtman hit a three at the end of the second quarter to plant a seed of hope.

“Being a good athlete and being confident in yourself, you always know that there's a chance ... you just have to work for it,” Fruchtman said. “That's exactly what we did.”

“In the locker room, you could just tell they were not happy with their performance,” coach Ron Dukes said. “They were frustrated with what they were doing, [but] you could just tell coming out of the locker room it was a different feeling.”

Junior Ally Diehl scored the first seven points of the third quarter to take a chainsaw to Smyrna’s double-digit lead. She was noticeably more aggressive.

“Ally just was different tonight,” Dukes said. “She was getting into the paint, finishing some shots.”

“We just wanted to turn things around and play how we normally did,” Diehl said. “We got to be a little calmer at the half and just take a breath, allowing us to get into the swing of things.”

The Vikings nearly doubled up on Smyrna in the third quarter, setting the stage for a 43-39 fourth quarter led by the visitors. Despite trailing, momentum had shifted to the home team.

“We came out really strong, and I think we kind of shook them up a little bit,” Diehl said. “I don't think that a lot of people thought we could do it; it was a run that we haven’t had to make in a long time, but it was really fun. It wasn't going to come easily, and it wasn't just going to be all at once, so we just made sure to keep working and not give up at all.”

“You battle like they did in that third quarter to get yourselves back in the game,” Dukes said.

Sophomore Jordan Bowe ended the third by hitting two free throws and opened the fourth with another pair of free points to keep the Vikings within striking distance. Classmate Mikaela Gordon connected from deep to tie the game 50-50. Smyrna regained the lead before Fruchtman knocked down a three to give Cape a lead it would not rescind.

The senior added another basket and hit a free throw in the closing seconds, making the score 56-54 and giving Amalia a game-high 28 points. Her sister Amara capped the comeback when she stole the in-bound pass after the free throw and scored the insurance bucket. She swiped the in-bound again to seal the deal for Cape, 58-54.

“I didn't even think about it,” Amara said. “I saw the ball coming, and I was like, ‘I have to go,’ and I went, and I was grateful it went in.”

In a symbol of how much the game meant to the girls, and how close they are, the squad stormed the court and circled around Amara to celebrate their thrilling triumph.

“This is a special team, a really special team,” Dukes said. “They love each other; they're constantly working with each other to make each other better. The girls that don't get to play a lot, they come to practice, they battle every day in practice to make everybody better. Somebody's down? They're always picking each other up, and I think you saw tonight that there were several that were down in the first half, but going in the locker room, picking each other up, coming out and playing with some composure, a lot of energy - you saw the difference.”