Danaziah Brown '17 Leads Archmere Past William Penn in Playoffs

After trailing 13-2 early in Tuesday’s DIAA first-round game at William Penn, the Archmere girls basketball team rallied to take a 42-39 win in an exciting back and forth match. On multiple occasions the Auks cut Willam Penn's lead to only 1 point, but could not break through until the fourth quarter, where junior guard Danaziah Brown stole the show, scoring 12 of her 15 points.

Down by 1 in the fourth quarter, Danaziah helped to give the Auks the lead with a quick rebound off of a missed 3 - point attempt. That was the kick start for her amazing fourth quarter. Also in that quarter, sophomore center Amanda Denning, the first half leader for Archmere with 8 points, stepped to the line with 1:12 remaining. Amanda, "cool under pressure", as Delaware Sports Zone writes, sank both at the line, putting Archmere ahead by 2. Danaziah then increased the Archmere lead by 3 points when she sunk an additional shot at the line.

The News Journal writes of Danaziah Brown: Brown was the excellence of execution in the final quarter, taking over with big shot after big shot on offense and locking down the Colonial guards on the defensive end, making the comeback that much easier.

With 6.4 seconds remaining, it was Danaziah again at the line, this time converting both free throws. On the ensuing Colonial possession, Archmere freshman Sydney Niumataiwalu deflected a pass, and Danaziah gathered the loose ball, sealing the Auks’ comeback win.

Archmere coach Dan Pisani stated: Danaziah is one of the more underrated girls in the state,” Pisani said. “When it comes down to it, we know the ball’s going to be in her hands and she’s going to put us on her back.

The Auks advance to play the Blue Hen Conference champion Concord Raiders on Thursday. Concord defeated Archmere earlier in the season, but the Auks are ready for the challenge.

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