Young Seaford racking up wins

It’s very rare in sports that a team is able to develop young talent while still finding ways to win games. But, that has been the case for the Seaford girls’ basketball squad this season. The Lady Vikings have gotten strong contributions from four freshmen, and over the past month have been racking up victories. 

Last Friday night against Clarke, Seaford’s freshman once again came up big, helping their team come away with a 35-30 win in a Conference A-V game. The victory was the club’s seventh in its last eight games.

“Everyone’s working really well together,” said freshman Jenna Siler. “It’s been a team effort.”

Siler finished with seven points and eight rebounds against the Lady Rams. Her sister and fellow freshman, Julia Siler, was a crucial part of the team’s strong perimeter defense in the game. Ninth graders Maddie O’Hagan and Jacklyn Grzelaczyk were major factors on the inside for the Lady Vikings, combining to score 12 points in the contest. O’Hagan had eight points, while Grzelaczyk added six.

Seaford’s head coach Bob Vachris said the improvement of his young players has been one of the biggest reasons for the team’s strong play of late. “We start three freshmen, and they’re getting better every time they play,” Vachris said.

The Lady Vikings struggled on offense for most of the night against Clarke, but a strong effort on the defensive side of the ball allowed Seaford to still come away on top. Hannah Zirkel led all scorers with 16 points for the Lady Rams, who remain alive in the playoff chase.

“We had to earn every basket,” Vachris said. “The only reason we beat them is because we played as good on defense as they did.”

The Lady Vikings gave up just 13 points in the first half. Six points in the second quarter from O’Hagan helped the hosts take a 23-13 lead into halftime.

In the third quarter points were extremely difficult to come by for both teams. Despite just scoring four points in the quarter, Seaford still took an eight-point advantage into the fourth.

With 4:40 remaining in regulation, the Lady Vikings seemed to be in control when two free throws by O’Hagan stretched the lead to 31-23. But the Lady Rams quickly climbed back into the game. A three-pointer by junior Briana Ventola cut the Lady Vikings’ lead to just three points with 1:14 left.

In the final minute, Ventola was left wide open again behind the arc, but the Lady Vikings were able to force a turnover before Clarke could get her the ball. The Lady Rams were then forced to foul, and senior Kathryn Siler (10 points) hit a pair of clutch free throws to secure the win for Seaford.

The Lady Vikings upped their record to 10-4 overall, including 8-2 in conference games. They will visit Island Trees this Friday for a 7:15 p.m. tip-off.