By Andy Walter

Coleman Morris has a decade of coaching boys’ basketball under his belt.
He was never planning on coaching the girls’ version of the sport, though.

But after a couple months as Lake Forest High’s interim girls’ hoop coach, Morris said he likes how coachable his players are.

“They’re much more receptive to coaching,” he said. “Boys, sometimes, are kind of set in their ways. ... But, at least in my experience, everything I’ve tried to teach these girls, there’s never been any pushback.

“They just are hungry to learn new things and to try to make themselves better. They just work. They do a really nice job.”

Morris is filling in for Leon Bordley, who was sidelined by illness at the start of the season. The Spartans’ former boys’ head coach and still the school’s dean of students, Morris only found out in October that he’d be back on the bench.

Having a temporary head coach, however, hasn’t stopped Lake Forest from picking up where it left off last season.

After going a combined 22-11 over the last two seasons, the Spartans are currently 6-0 in the South, 7-2 overall. They host Dover (7-3) in a 4 p.m. contest on Friday.

With an 11-player roster that includes six seniors, Morris said the players deserve the credit for their success so far.

“My expectations were kind of up in the air,” said Morris. “I didn’t know what to expect. The boys’ game is much different than the girls’ game.

“But Leon had done a good job with the girls and getting them to the point where they were. I kind of stepped into a nice situation.”

It definitely helped that Gabby Almonte returned to the team after sitting out last season. The 5-foot-10 senior is averaging about 20 points per game.

Almonte netted 24 points on Tuesday night in a 47-30 win over Seaford. She had 30 in a game earlier this season.

“She’s a really good player,” said Morris. “And she’s working to get better.”
Morris likes Lake Forest’s defensive effort. The Spartans are allowing only 23.4 ppg.

“I just think it’s a great group of girls,” he said. “Their defensive energy and intensity is great. We just have to get better on the offensive end.”

Morris knows the Spartans still have some big challenges in front of them. They face Henlopen South power Woodbridge twice in a two-week span in February.

“If we want to have a chance to compete with them, we’re going to have to raise our level of play obviously to match theirs,” said Morris. “They expect to win. They’ve been winning the last couple years.

“They don’t expect anybody to knock them off — and they certainly aren’t going to give it away. We’re going to have to earn it.”

Antwi making big impact

If there was one game when Messiah Antwi showed what he’s capable of, it was in the Caesar Rodney boys’ 75-66 win over Polytech on Jan. 11.
CR’s 6-foot-8 center finished with an impressive 22 points, 30 rebounds and eight blocked shots.

While Antwi hasn’t put up those kind of stats every night, he’s clearly a big presence under the basket for the Riders. A transfer from New Jersey, CR coach Frank Victory said Antwi is still getting back into the game.

“He hasn’t played since his freshman year,” said Victory. “So this is the first time he’s been on a basketball floor in almost three years. He’s got to work off the rust, he’s got to figure out how we do things at Caesar Rodney and try to get himself involved in that.

“He’s getting better every time he steps on the floor. I’m excited to see what it’s going to look like come the end of February as opposed to where he is now. He’s putting in the work, he’s doing a good job.”

North still a race

Smyrna’s 62-60 win over Dover on Tuesday night kept things interesting in the race for the Henlopen North boys’ title.

The Senators are still in first place with an 8-1 North record. They have five division games left, most notably a Feb. 12th matchup at Caesar Rodney at 11 a.m.

Smyrna is in second place at 6-2 in the North while the Riders are in third at 5-3. The Eagles play another big North game at CR next Tuesday night.

After having its eight-game winning streak snapped, Dover gets a chance to get right back on track when it hosts Delaware Military on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.

Free throws

Woodbridge’s girls’ team currently owns a 59-game South winning streak. Lake Forest was the last South squad to beat the Blue Raiders, on Feb. 2, 2017. ... Woodbridge’s De’Asya Jones had a couple big games last week, collecting 49 points and 23 steals in a of wins. ... Cape Henlopen’s girls (8-3) face a showdown with state power Sanford (6-2) on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. in Hockessin. The Vikings were last slated to take on the Warriors in the 2020 DIAA state semifinals. But the contest was canceled when the pandemic hit.

Follow Andy Walter on Twitter at @DSNSports.