By Chris Stevens, Editor
Delmarva Christian girls’ basketball head coach Jedediah Roach wanted Wednesday’s DIAA girls’ basketball game against William Penn to be a defense-first affair.
The coach got what he asked for and then some as the visiting Royals turned countless Colonial turnovers into easy buckets in a 55-21 romp, the first state tournament win in the Royals’ girls program’s history.
“I’m a stickler for defense and the girls were really paying attention in practice this week when we practiced man-to-man and zone,” Roach explained. “We did a wonderful job.”
The Royals mixed it up with a full-court pressure defense, then used a zone to clog driving lanes, frustrating the Colonials into turnovers, which turned into fast break layups. The beneficiary of that development was senior guard Grace Fetterman, who scored 26 points in three quarters of action. She was joined in double figures by sophomore guard Ainsley Bell with 15 points.
“Grace has been tremendous for us all season long,” Roach said. “She carried us when we had injuries and players down, so we’re pleased to have someone like her on the court.”
“Having that good start helped us because we were able to relax,” Fetterman said. “Playing good defense got us a lot of easy baskets.”
The Royals (11-4 in 2021) jumped out a 13-0 lead to start the game and cruised from there. Fetterman brought the win home by scoring the first 12 points of the third quarter for a 45-11 DCS lead.
Delmarva Christian now turns their attention to 2nd-seeded Conrad in Friday night’s third round.
“We’ve just got to have confidence,” Roach said. “The naysayers may feel its impossible, but in our building, we believe that we can play up to the level of the Top 5 teams in the state. We want to make some noise for the teams Southern Delaware.”
“We played them earlier in the season, but since then, we’ve figured out what we can do better,” Fetterman added. “No matter what, we’re going to give it our all.”
Tanasia Turner led William Penn (7-5) with seven points.
