BERLIN- After running the table in the Bayside Conference this season with a perfect 20-0 mark, Stephen Decatur’s girls’ varsity basketball team fell to north champion Kent Island, 61-48, in the conference championship.
The Decatur girls beat Kent Island in the Bayside championship last year, but the Buccaneers returned the favor on Tuesday with a 61-48 win over the Seahawks. Kent Island led 7-0 early, but Decatur battled back and took a 16-15 in the second quarter. Kent Island then went on a 15-1 run that spanned the rest of the second quarter and carried over into the third quarter that proved to be decisive.
Kent Island led 27-17 at one point in the third quarter, but the Seahawks battled back and cut the lead to six at 30-24 late in the third. That was as close as Decatur would get, however, as the Buccaneers pulled away for the 61-48 win. The loss could be a mere speed bump in the Seahawks’ larger plans for this season. The Decatur girls are the top seed in the state 3A-East Section II regional tournament and will face the winner of the first-round game between fourth-seeded Bennett and fifth-seeded Hammond at home next week.