***UPDATED****
(March 6, 2015) After two attempts, the Stephen Decatur–Northeast girls’ basketball game was finally played on Wednesday evening in Berlin.
Northeast of Anne Arundel did not have school on Monday, and students were dismissed early Tuesday due to bad weather and icy road conditions.
The Eagles made the trip to Berlin on Wednesday for Section I semifinals of the 3A South Regional tournament and the Lady Seahawks sent them home with a 79-25 loss.
“We knew going in what their strengths and weaknesses were,” Decatur Coach Amy Fenzel-Mergott said.
She watched Northeast take on James M. Bennett, who Decatur plays during the regular season, last Friday to scout the Eagles and prepare her team. Northeast won 55-41.
“We knew that we had height and they didn’t have much height, and I knew they would have a hard time with our press,” she said.
The top-seeded Seahawks scored 21 points in the first quarter and held the No. 5 Eagles to two points. At halftime Decatur led 41-7.
After three quarters, the Berlin squad boosted its advantage to 59-15.
“I thought we did a good job of being aggressive on defense, of getting our hands in the passing lane, causing turnovers and getting steals,” Fenzel-Mergott said. “We started off doing a great job rebounding. They had one shot and then they were done and we would get the rebound … and we were getting second and third opportunities [to score] which is really nice on offense.”
Junior Dayona Godwin led Decatur with 22 points. Senior captain Marina Jones contributed 18 points and four rebounds.
Payton VanKirk, a senior, tallied 12 points, seven rebounds and two steals. Freshman Amya Mumford chipped in with 11 points, nine rebounds and three blocks. Senior captain, point guard Jillian Petito, logged 10 assists and 10 steals.
The No. 2 Northern Patriots of Calvert County were scheduled to travel to Berlin Thursday to take on Decatur for the Section I finals, but due to an approaching winter storm schools were closed and the game postponed. They will play on the next available date, SATURDAY AT 1 P.M. IN BERLIN.
Last year, the Seahawks topped the Patriots 64-43.
“Northern is going to be very tough,” Fenzel-Mergott said. “They’re going to play us man-to-man or a tight two-three [zone defense] so we’ve got to be ready, and they’re going to press us.”
