Sanford and St. Elizabeth Girls Basketball Move on to 2026 DIAA Girls Basketball State Championship Game with Semifinal Wins
Sanford junior Asia Adams attempts a tough finish over the Smyrna defense. Photo Credit Dave Reeder.
The Sanford Warriors defeated Smyrna, 60-39, and the St. Elizabeth Vikings defeated Ursuline, 56-40, in the semifinal round to advance to the 2026 DIAA girls basketball state championship game. The championship game is scheduled for Saturday, March 14, at 1:00 p.m.
NEWARK — The two 2026 semifinal games provided a ton of excitement and quality basketball. The Warriors are advancing to the championship game for the second time in the last four years. The Vikings are making their second appearance in the title game in as many years, after falling to Caravel a year ago.
Sanford defeats Smyrna, 60-39:
Sanford junior Asia Adams entered the semifinal round leading the Warriors’ offense through the early rounds of the tournament. Adams scored 21 in the team’s first game against Tatnall, 23 against Caravel in the quarterfinal and another 23, Tuesday night, leading the Warriors’ return to the championship game for the first time since 2023.
“Every big game we’ve had she’s shown up and played, and I’m happy that she was able to do it on this stage,” Sanford head coach Marcus Thompson said postgame.
17 of Adams’ 23 points came in a dominant second half from the Warriors after a competitive first half ended with the teams tied at 20.
Smyrna started the game with seven straight points courtesy of two early buckets from freshman Dawson DeMoe and a 3-pointer from sophomore Laylani Jenkins. The Eagles led by four after the first eight minutes, but Sanford slowly climbed back in the second quarter.
Adams got her game going with a couple of steals that led to fastbreak layups, and strong free throw shooting from Kaylee Pechickjian put Sanford ahead by two with time ticking away. Smyrna senior Amiyah Ellerbe dribbled her way into the lane at the end of the quarter, creating enough space to shoot a floater that tied the game before the halftime buzzer.
Sanford’s offense exploded for 40 points in the second half sparked by an 8-0 scoring run in the middle of the third quarter. Adams contributed five points to the offensive attack and finished the quarter with 11 points. Four other Warriors scored in the quarter, ending the frame with 21 total points and a seven point lead.
The Eagles battled in the final frame with early buckets from DeMoe and Ellerbe, but Adams and Warrior freshman Kha’Nihya Johnson scored the game’s final 14 points to earn the team’s 20th victory of the season.
“She just kept giving me the lane and it just kept working so I just kept going with it,” Adams said.
Adams finished as the game’s leading scorer and Johnson finished with 14 points off the bench.
Smyrna senior Amiyah Ellerbe finishes at the basket against Sanford in the semifinals. Photo Credit Dave Reeder.
Ellerbe led the Eagles with a team-high 16 points with DeMoe trailing her with 12 points on the night.
All of Ellerbe’s scores were difficult due to the strong defense Sanford threw her way, especially in the second half. The senior guard and Delaware player of the year candidate saw consistent double teams in the half court and on her drives to the basket. Seven of Ellerbe’s 16 points came in the first half.
“She’s a great player,” Thompson said of Ellerbe. “We have multiple players that can come in and defend. I mean we’ve been talking all year about how deep we are and that showed today when you got Gabby [Domenick] came in and KJ [Kha’Nihya Johnson] came in, it gave us a spark especially defensively.”
St. Elizabeth defeats Ursuline, 56-40:
A player’s first time at the University of Delaware’s Bob Carpenter Center can be an overwhelming and nerve-wracking experience. Viking freshman Taylor Tucker attested to the fact, but if you watched her play Tuesday night, you’d think this was her 100th time there.
“I was a little nervous at first, but I feel like I do really good under pressure, so it was a great feeling. A great experience,” Tucker said postgame.
The freshman scored nine of St. Elizabeth’s 15 first quarter points, providing an early spark to St. Elizabeth’s offense, helping the Vikings return to the state championship game for the second year in a row.
St. Elizabeth freshman Taylor Tucker drives through traffic in the second semifinal game Tuesday night. Photo Credit Dave Reeder.
The Raiders played a strong first quarter as well, trailing the Vikings by one point due in part to a seven point performance from senior Naiya Murphy. Murphy played a terrific quarter leading the team in scoring and holding Viking senior Skylar Bolden scoreless in the frame. Bolden eventually found the bottom of the net with a mid range shot in the second quarter, but finished the first half with just the one score.
The Viking’s offense didn’t skip a beat though, with other players like sophomore Anissa Harris, senior Makayla Sullivan and the team’s second leading scorer — senior Za’Mylah Seda-Owens — contributing on the offensive end. St. Elizabeth outscored the Raiders, 9-5, in the quarter to go into halftime ahead by five.
“That’s how we’re kinda built,” head coach Tye Taylor said postgame. “I kind of prepared them for that all season. I play a lot of the younger guys through some tough competition in Philadelphia so they’re ready for this moment.”
The Vikings’ offense scored 32 points the rest of the way, scoring most of them in a 17-point third quarter. St. Elizabeth scored the final ten points of the frame with scores from Bolden, Tucker and Harris. Harris ended the quarter by knocking down her only 3-pointer of the night and giving the Vikings a 14-point lead.
“It was honestly just do anything I can to win,” Harris said postgame about her second half mindset. “Just help my teammates, whether if its making the right pass or taking it to the rack or just shooting a three when I’m wide open.”
Tucker and Sullivan tied for the team lead in points with 12 and Bolden finished the game with ten. Harris and Seda-Owens each contributed nine. Murphy led the Raider offense with 18 points and freshman Amoree Anderson finished with 15.
St. Elizabeth’s defense finished the second half by holding the Raiders to 21 combined points and held Ursuline to its lowest point total since the middle of February.
Ursuline senior Naiya Murphy rises up from the mid-range against St. Elizabeth. Photo Credit Dave Reeder.
The championship game between Sanford and St. Elizabeth will be on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at the Bob Carpenter Center.
This post was originally published on Delaware LIVE
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