Sussex Academy girls’ basketball is inserting itself into the Henlopen South conversation after its 37-30 win over Delmar Jan. 15 made it two straight victories in the division.

“We've put in a lot of work in the past few practices, and we're excited to see it pay off,” said junior Grayce Glover. “We hope to carry it on for the next few games.”

Glover finished third on the team with nine points and performed her usual glue-girl duties.

“Against Laurel, Grayce didn't shoot well, but she did well in other ways that helped the team – bringing the ball up, rebounding and being physical – things like that,” said coach Rayona Benson. “She always fills in exactly where we need her. She got some points off today, which was great. Her first bucket was at the line, which is what she needed.”

The first two of freshman Patti Lara Nieto’s 10 total points gave the Seahawks a 6-5 lead to end the first quarter. They doubled their lead in the second quarter, taking a 15-13 edge into the locker room.

A relaxed Barb Carneiro-Duarte led the team with 11 points, but she didn’t score until the third quarter. Delmar wasn’t making life easy for the freshman, but she pushed through.

“They were really hard to go against, but my confidence just went up because my teammates were cheering,” Carneiro-Duarte said. “I saw them on the bench, so it just helped me.”

“She's getting comfortable,” Benson said. “She's getting to the point where she is looking for the ball down low.”

Barb’s presence on the low block and improved free-throw shooting helped the girls expand to a 29-24 advantage heading into the final frame. Benson wasn’t shy about using her time-outs to keep the girls focused on the plan.

“We needed to stay ahead,” Glover said. “There was no way we could get behind.”

Effort is never a question with this team, but playing ahead is something the girls are having to adjust to.

“We need to learn how to close the games out, learn how to take care of the ball those last couple of minutes, because technically you don't need the shots,” Benson said. “The only shots you should be taking at that time are lay-ups.”

The girls were connecting at the line and playing smart defense to prevent Delmar from picking up points with the clock stopped.

“Our foul shooting was really good, way better than it has been; we've been working on that,” Benson said. “The defense looked pretty good as well.”

Carneiro-Duarte scored four of her 11 points at the stripe in the fourth quarter under a bit of pressure. The Wildcats were a possession behind before each of her trips to the line.

“I never expected my free throws to be that good today,” Carneiro-Duarte said. “I haven’t been good at that, so I'm really, really happy about it.”

Glover thinks the Delmar win, coupled with the 28-24 comeback win over Laurel, will give the girls energy to play out their schedule. Nine of those games are coming against divisional foes following the 3-7 Seahawks (2-4) 56-18 loss to an impressive Early College School @ Delaware State University squad Jan. 17. 

It is likely the 7-4 Hornets(5-0) will square off with 8-2 Cape (6-0) for the first time this season in the Henlopen Conference championship game.

() - Henlopen Conference record.