Lady Seahawks fall in 3A South Region II semifinals

By Lisa Capitelli Managing Editor

(March 3, 2023) The Stephen Decatur girls’ basketball team lost, 39-31, to the Crofton Cardinals in the 3A South Region II semifinals on Monday in Berlin, ending its season.

“They didn’t quit. They kept fighting, they played through injury, they kept playing hard,” said Decatur Coach Scott Kurtz. “They gave it all they had.”

Third-seeded Crofton led 9-6 at the end of the first quarter. Secondseeded Decatur outscored its opponent, 11-6, in the second quarter to pull ahead, 17-15, going into halftime.

The Cardinals edged out the Lady Seahawks in the third quarter, 12-9, to take a 27-26 lead. They added 12 points in the final quarter to Decatur’s five.

“It was more of the same going down the stretch of what we’ve seen. A few players clicking … It was a difficult shooting night,” Kurtz said. “As a team we shot below 20 percent from the field. We just couldn’t make shots.”

Senior captain Mayah Garner was the Berlin squad’s top producer with 24 points, 10 rebounds and one steal.

Sophomore Sam Boger had three points, six rebounds and four assists.

“Defensively, we played good. There’s a lot of ability there, a lot of team athleticism, we just failed to score the ball,” Kurtz said. “[Senior captain] Jes [Beck] out [with injury] had a major effect.”

Decatur finished the season with a 17-5 overall record.

“It was a major learning experience as far as lessons of what to do and what not to do,” Kurtz said. “The identity of our team was different this year from the very beginning of the season.”

This year, the coaching staff added tougher competition to the regular season, because playing against stronger opponents will make a team better.

“We elevated the season schedule to prepare for the postseason,” he added.

Decatur went 15-0 during regularseason competition before losing its first game on Feb. 2, 56-51, to Cape Henlopen. That was also when the team lost Beck with a knee injury.

The team will graduate three players – Beck, Garner and Shelby Rosemond.

“My teams have had a lot of success the past couple years … They were three big contributors. They will definitely be missed,” Kurtz said. “They helped build the program, they trusted in the vision and did everything they could to carry it out. All three battled it out and fought for each other every night.”

While graduating the three senior captains will be a big loss, several underclassmen did contribute this season.

“It will be interesting to see what the immediate future looks like,” Kurtz said. “It will be interesting to see the leaps and bounds these girls make if they fully commit. How hard they work for success will determine where this program goes.”