Pocomoke Routs Decatur Girls, 59-27

BERLIN- For the most of the second half of Tuesday’s home game against Pocomoke, Stephen Decatur’s girls’ varsity basketball team hung with the visiting Warriors, but a sluggish first half doomed the Seahawks to a 59-27 loss in their first game back after the holiday break.

Decatur started slow against Pocomoke on Tuesday, falling behind 16-6 at the end of the first quarter. During the second half, the Warriors started to steadily pull away from Decatur as the Seahawks continued to get good looks at the basket but couldn’t get their shots to fall.

Pocomoke extended its lead to 18-6 early in the second quarter before Decatur’s Monique Wise ended a long drought the covered much of the end of the first period and early second with a jumper from the key to cut the lead to 18-8. Pocomoke then scored two quick baskets including a fast break lay-up off a steal to run the lead to 22-8.

Decatur’s Leigh Anne Flounlacker scored on a lay-up off an inbound pass to cut the lead to 22-10 at the 5:42 mark of the second quarter. After a pair of Pocomoke free throws, Decatur’s Michelle Harris cut the lead to 24-12, but Pocomoke hit a long three-pointer followed by a fast break lay-up to push the lead to 30-11. Decatur’s Kristina Flakowitz hit a jumper in the paint with 22 seconds left in the second quarter to cut the lead to 30-13, but Pocomoke scored on a lay-up as time expired and took a 32-13 lead into halftime.

The Seahawks played much better in the third quarter and kept the Pocomoke lead around the 20-point mark, but the damage had been done. Jamie Parker hit a jumper at the 4:28 mark to cut the lead to 35-15, and scored again less than a minute later to cut the lead to 35-17, but Pocomoke went on a run of its own to pull away.

Largely from the free throw line, Pocomoke continued to extend its lead through the third quarter, but a real dagger came at the 2:20 mark of the period when a three-pointer by the Warriors extended the lead to 46-17, its largest of the game.

Decatur recovered somewhat and cut into the Warriors’ lead, however. Parker scored on a fast break lay-up with just over a minute left in the third to cut the lead to 46-19 and scored again seconds later on a great pass inside to cut the lead to 46-21 at the end of three.

Flounlacker hit a jumper with just over five minutes remaining in the fourth to cut the lead to 53-23 and Flakowitz hit a turnaround jumper at the 2:56 mark to cut the lead to 53-25, but Pocomoke made its foul shots down the stretch and finished with the 59-27 win.

The Seahawks are now 1-4 on the season with their only victory thus far coming on a 49-7 shellacking of Crisfield just before the holiday break. Decatur was supposed to host its two county rivals for the annual John Coleman Holiday Tournament last week, but the event was cancelled because of the snowstorm.