A.I.’s Lauryn Griffin sends a behind-the-back pass past a group of William Penn defenders in the first half of A.I.’s 68-33 win over William Penn at A.I. duPont High School in Greenville on Thursday evening.
GREENVILLE – William Penn won the opening tip and immediately got the ball to Shawnae Sykes for a layup just four seconds into the game.
That was it for the Colonials’ highlights, as A.I. du Pont rained in shots from everywhere and quickly turned what appeared to be a Blue Hen Flight A showdown into a romp, winning 68-33 on its home court Thursday night.
The ninth-ranked Tigers (11-2, 6-0) shot 54 percent (27 of 50) from the field on the way to their second-highest point total of the season.
“I would say that was the best offensive game we’ve played this year,” A.I. coach Tracy Howell said. “The girls really shared the ball with everybody. Everybody got a chance to touch it.”
There were plenty of points to go around. Freshman guard Ber’Nyah Ward-Mayo hit 10 of 12 from the field in pouring in a game-high 25 points. Senior Lauryn Griffin was solid all around with 15 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals, and senior Adeline Runco turned it on in the second half to score 14.
“We moved the ball well, we finished, we executed well and shot the ball well,” Griffin said.
Ward-Mayo immediately took control after William Penn’s opening bucket. The freshman hit a floater, scored a layup off an inbounds play, converted Griffin’s fast-break assist and went behind the back for a driving layup to push the Tigers to an 8-2 lead.
“I got the ball movement and pushed the ball more,” Ward-Mayo said. “I got some wide-open looks.”
The assault continued, as Griffin dropped back-to-back 3-pointers to stretch A.I.’s advantage to 20-10 after one quarter. The Tigers hit 5 of 13 (38.5 percent) from beyond the arc.
“We’ve been in the gym shooting a lot,” Howell said. “We’ve been working on little things, like making the layups, fundamentals, things that we kind of get lax on.”
The Colonials (7-5, 4-1) showed some grit, pulling within 20-15 when Shanira Mitchell opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer and a short jumper. But the Tigers hit the gas again, as Ward-Mayo converted a three-point play, Runco made two free throws and a layup and Griffin drove for another score to make it 29-14.
A.I. led 31-17 at the half, then kept pouring it on. The Tigers shot 55.6 percent from the field in the second half to ring up 37 more points.
“When we go up by a certain number of points, we just kind of stop playing defense or stop shooting,” Howell said. “But today, the girls played all the way through. They played hard, and that’s all I can ask.”
Mitchell and Jessica Behornar led William Penn with eight points each.
Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ.
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A.I.’s Adeline Runco puts up a shot in the second half of A.I.’s 68-33 win over William Penn at A.I. duPont High School in Greenville on Thursday evening.
A.I.’s Lauryn Griffin puts up a shot in the second half of A.I.’s 68-33 win over William Penn at A.I. duPont High School in Greenville on Thursday evening.
A.I.’s Ber’Nyah Ward-Mayo puts up a shot in front of William Penn’s Shawnae Sykes in the second half of A.I.’s 68-33 win over William Penn at A.I. duPont High School in Greenville on Thursday evening.
A.I.’s Adeline Runco goes up for a shot in the second half of A.I.’s 68-33 win over William Penn at A.I. duPont High School in Greenville on Thursday evening.
A.I.’s Lauryn Griffin looks for room to drive past William Penn’s Shawnae Sykes in the second half of A.I.’s 68-33 win over William Penn at A.I. duPont High School in Greenville on Thursday evening.
A.I.’s Sydney MacDonald steals the ball from William Penn’s Shanira Mitchell in the first half of A.I.’s 68-33 win over William Penn at A.I. duPont High School in Greenville on Thursday evening.