(March 1, 2013) The Stephen Decatur girls’ basketball team narrowly pulled out a victory over the Wilde Lake Wildecats on Monday in the quarterfinal round of the 3A East Regional tournament.
“The whole game we weren’t smooth. We weren’t able to fast break and do the things we normally do because of their defense,” said Decatur Coach Amy Fenzel-Mergott after the Lady Seahawks’ 48-46 win in Berlin. “I think their pressure on our guards really made us stagnant on offense.”
The second-seeded Seahawks were awarded a first-round bye, while the No. 7 Wildecats topped the 10th-seeded James M. Bennett Clippers 49-29 last Friday to advance to the quarterfinals.
Decatur had a strong first quarter, outscoring Wilde Lake 11-4. The Wildecats cut the Seahawks’ lead to 15-14 about two minutes before halftime. Senior captain Abbey Schorr made back-to-back lay-ups and freshman Dayona Godwin sank a three as cheers erupted from the crowd and the home team increased its advantage to 22-14 with 39 seconds remaining.
Wilde Lake scored twice, but Godwin’s shot fell at the buzzer to put Decatur on top 24-18 at the break.
“We talked about what our plan was — we were going to try to take it to them and try to get them into foul trouble — and that worked. On offense, I thought we made some big shots, especially toward the end of the first half. I was happy with it,” Fenzel-Mergott said.
Decatur had built a 42-33 lead after three quarters. But the visiting Wildecats chipped away at the Seahawks’ advantage in the fourth quarter, scoring six unanswered points to pull within three (42-39).
Wild Lake evened the score 44-44 with 2:55 on the clock. Godwin netted two foul shots seconds later to put Decatur ahead 46-44.
Sophomore Jillian Petito hit her free throws with about 34 seconds left to give the Seahawks’ a four-point cushion. Wilde Lake scored a final basket with 13 seconds to play, but the home team held on for the victory.
“Their pressure on our guards was more intense than what we’ve seen all year,” Fenzel-Mergott said. “I think that we had a hard time getting into our offensive rhythm and I also think when they started coming back, we started freaking out a little bit.
“We’re going to see man-to-man defense from here on out so we’ve got to be ready for it,” she said.
Godwin finished the game with 14 points. Senior captain Monique Wise chipped in with 13 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks. Schorr had 11 points, 14 rebounds and four steals.
On Wednesday, Decatur hosted the No. 3 Howard Lions. The Lions won the regional semifinal game 67-33.
