Blue Star Basketball

(Normally I ask Winston to cover the key basketball events in the NYC Metro area but with a big event at J.F. Kennedy HS this past Saturday and his work schedule not working out I did not hesitate to take Winston’s suggest to have Derrick Mullens cover the event for Blue Star. Following is Derrick’s detailed and  excellent report. – Mike) 

BRONX, NY – The day started out in a somber mood with the passing of legendary Hall of Fame coach Kay Yow, who passed away on Saturday morning, succumbing to breast cancer who died at the age of 66. Coach Yow would have been pleased to see how these players came out to play and giving it everything that they had on the court yesterday. With numerous college coaches in attendance, The Usual Suspects put on prime time performances, while there were some co-stars who will now be seeking star roles.

GAME #1  Sachem East 65, Mount Vernon  41 – All American junior, Kristen Doherty of Sachem East did not disappoint the fans and the college coaches in attendance. The tempo was set early as the smooth lefty gun slinger was scoring on long range jumpers, driving to the basket, hitting step back threes, etc. She finished with 24 first half points while helping her team to a 38 to 14 half time lead. In the second half Doherty showed her versatility while running the point in which she distributed beautiful assist ala NBA great Steve Nash. Mt. Vernon was unable to contain Doherty and also had problems in getting the ball inside to their 6’4” center LaBirdia Gordon. Keep your eye out for Gordon as she’s only an 8th grader. At the end of the night Doherty, the 5’10” guard finished with 34 points 9 assist and 7 rebounds.

GAME #2 North Babylon 63, Thomas Jefferson 58 – This was a game of the guards, which pitted North Babylon All Americans Bria Hartley and Eugenia McPherson against Jefferson guards Alicia Cropper and Renee Blake. Cropper, who’s one of the most gifted athletic guards in the City displayed her playground like style and helped her team to a 18 to 16 first quarter lead. The dynamic duo of Hartley and McPherson picked up the pace in the second quarter. St. Johns commit, McPherson displayed deft touch from the 3 point arch, while Hartley hit several pull up jumpers in the lane, helping North Babylon to a 34 to 26 half time lead. The Bulldogs of North Babylon went on their vintage 3rd quarter run with both Hartley and McPherson leading the onslaught.  The Orange Wave countered with the hot shooting Renee Blake, who kept Jefferson within striking distance.  In the end, it was too much Hartley and McPherson.  McPherson finished with 27 points and Hartley contributed 26. Jefferson was led by Cropper’s 13, while her backcourt mate Blake chipped in 12.  Wonder how the outcome would have been if Jefferson would have guard Tamika Lucky available?

GAME #3 John F. Kennedy 55, Brian Cliff 53 – This was one of the more exciting games of the day, which went down to the wire. JFK raced out to an early lead and was led by senior PG Teara Shaw. The speedy 5’2” guard used her dazzling speed to penetrate and breakdown the Lady Bear defense. Briar Cliff battled back led by Manhattan College commit, senior Maggie Blair. The Lady Knights of JFK led 39 to 34 at the half.  In the second half, Shaw’s running mate 5’7” senior Robyn Jenkins picked up the pace offensively. She scored on short jumpers and drives to the basket. The Lady Bears 5’10” Blair showed great offensive versatility. She posted up scoring outside and then took it out to the wing and nailed some mid range jumpers. With JFK up by 53 to 51, Brianna Reid of Briar Cliff took the ball down the lane and scored to tie the game up at 53. With 2.9 seconds left on the clock Teara Shaw of JFK was inexplicably fouled, putting her on the line in which she nailed the winning free throws. JFK was led by Shaw (19) and Jenkins (19). Briar Cliff was led by who finished with 20.

GAME #4 Potter’s House (FL) 74, H.D. Woodson (MD) 58 – Though this game did not have any local flavor, it was clearly a battle of the nations finest. Wall to wall, this game was fast and furious. Woodson came out early and established low post supremacy using their 6’6” center Jenice Johnson. Unable to deal with the size of Woodson, Potter’s House countered with superior speed and quickness, which enabled them to turn this game into a track meet. Potters House led 36 to 29 at the half. Coach Bannister of Potters House then unleashed his young sophomore backcourt of Brittney Rountree and Shalethia Stringfield. These two guards were absolutely sensational. They were nailing jump shots all over the place, getting steals and finishing strong to the basket. Woodson had a lot of trouble dealing with the swarming and pressing of an undersized Potters House team, committing several uncharacteristic turnovers. Potters House won this game going away in the fourth quarter. Again, I loved those two sophomore guards from Potters House. Rountree finished with 28 points while Stringfield dropped an additional 20. Woodson was led by Johnson who finished with 26 points and 20 rebounds.

GAME #5  St. Michael’s Academy 64, South Shore 54 — This was a game that South Shore wanted and at the end of the night they proved that they can play with the elite. South Shore, led by the sleek sophomore Jasmine Odom raced out to an early lead. Odom knocked down two 3-pointers to open up the game. Nationally ranked St. Michaels who came into the game riddled with injuries used their overall size and depth to play even with the Lady Vikings in the first half.  During the 3rd quarter both teams played pretty evenly. It wasn’t until the 4th quarter when St. Michaels began to take advantage of their size down low. 6’0” Jr. F. Jelleah Sidney did not score much, but in a very strange move coach Robert (Apache) Paschall had Jelleah run the point, which seemed to surprise South Shore. During several fast breaks, Jelleah penetrated the South Shore defense connecting with 6’1”  So. F. Taylor Ford for one of several baskets.  The young Ford was just a beast down low, finishing strong. South Shore had no answer for her down low.  If it wasn’t Ford scoring down low, the other So. 6’2” Tiffany Jones was. Jones was dominating on the defensive end swatting shots left and right and dominating on the boards. 5’10” So. SG Allysia Roehler provided the outside touch for the Lady Eagles connecting on several perimeter shots.  With the Lady Eagles up 64 to 40 late in the game, South Shore made a furious rally behind the scoring tandem of guards Odom and Baytania Newman. They closed the gap with a 14 to 0 run. Odom and Newman both finished with 17-points each. St. Michaels was led by Ford (15). Roehler and Jones chipped in 12 points and 11 points respectively.  

CLOSING COMMENTS — I would like to extend my personal thanks to tournament director and head varsity coach at JFK Coach O’Neill Glenn. He and his entire staff at JFK were very professional and hospitable. The event was well ran with professionalism. He was able to bring in some really good teams, including some out of town heavyweights. The gym was packed with college coaches and fans. By the way, the food was excellent.

This past Friday night instead of going to the usual high school game I decided to go the pro route. I’ve been a Knicks season subscriber since 1992, some times I take the years of being a Knicks fan for granted.

I met a high school buddy of mine and we decided on an early dinner at Carmine’s and talked hoops, business and the ladies of course. After dinner we headed over to the Garden to watch the Knicks take on the Memphis Grizzlies. My Knicks were true to form, down early by some 15 points, they then proceeded to go on a 26 points swing on which they went up 56-45 at the half. Chris Duhon led the Knicks with 15 points, while Al Harrington contributed 14 points in the half.

From a business stand point we talked about the professional player agent he had become and his life on the road tracking America’s top collegiate players in need of representation. Very interesting. He showed me this software program designed to breakdown the games of every male college player. I’m thinking wow, this could very interesting in women’s basketball. You know me; my mind was already spinning with ideas for this concept.

Back to the Knick game - the Knicks steadily increased their lead throughout the second half. I’m thinking ok when will my Knicks break my heart tonight. Can you believe it, they played stellar in the second half building their half time lead into a 108-88 victory. David Lee was his usual double-double, Duhon was steady all night, even Nate Robinson, found his shooting touch on this night, it had been missing for a few games already.

Even though it was an evening of pro basketball I was still enamored with the this software by Sports Technology and its possibilities for women’s basketball.  Saturday and Sunday will be the games over at J.F. Kennedy High School. Derrick Mullens will cover the Saturday portion for me as I have prior commitments until later in the day.  His report will post on my blog site and I’ll follow-up with Sunday games.

The Boardwalk Hoop Group tournament seems to bring out the best in the weather every year. We had snow coming and going as we made our way to Asbury Park, NJ on Sunday.

I got to talk hoops with some of my good buddies Apache (he requires no last name), Lauren Best, Earl Elliott, Will Rampersant and the Hoopking Derrick Mullen.

The games got started with (9-4) Christ the King versus (10-2) Colts Neck, NJ. Colts Neck upset Christ the King 62-55.

Christ the King and Colts Neck went back and forth in the first half, which ended 31-31. Colts Neck used a patient offense, they moved the ball for wide open jumpers and easy ups.

Colts Neck Cougars never allowed CTK’s athletic front line of junior Ariel Edwards and senior Tahira Johnson to take control.. Colts Neck pretty much led the entire second half, all be it, not by much.

Christ the King closed to within a point 46-45, with approximately two (2) minutes remaining in the third quarter, Colts Neck broke the backs of the Royals with a run of five consecutive points and pretty mush weren’t challenged the rest of the way.

Colts Neck, NJ was led by the balanced attack of junior Lauren Clarke with 22 points, junior and West Virginia-commit Brooke Hampton with 14 points and Junior Emily Laurence also chipped in 12 points.

Christ the King was led by Ariel Edwards with 19 points, South Florida-bound Tahira Johnson added 16 points while American University-bound Gelesia George chipped in 12 points.

Next up was (17-0) Murry Bergtraum versus (13-1) St. John Vianney, NJ. Murry Bergtraum out last St. John Vianney in a thriller 61-59, extending MB’s winning streak to 70 straight victory’s.

Murray Bergtraum came out with their usual clamp down press, but the Lady Lancers remained relentless and only went into the locker room down 34-30 at half time.

The Lady Blazers and Lady Lancers exchanged runs in the second half, but could not shack free of each other. But with 3:16 remaining in the game Junior Shukurah Washington fouls out. It seemed possible that the Lady Blazers might break, but they only bent, as junior Doris Ortega on a last second rebound and put back, help nationally ranked Murry Bergtraum hold off St. John Vianney.

The Lady Blazers were led by junior Doris Ortega with 18 points, senior Shanee Williams with 13 point, Junior enforcer Shukurah Williams with 12 points and the junior lightning bolt Cece Dixon added 10 points.

The Lady Lancers received contributions from sophomore Jackie Kates with 13 points, Katelyn Linney with 12 points additionally 5’9, freshman sensation Michaela Mabrey chipped in 11 points as did junior Teresa Manigrasso.

I must apologize, but Sean Casey’s Peddie School jumped all over Point Boro HS, and I kind got into spring/summer discussions with Lady Gauchos coaches Earl Elliott and Will Rampersant. Like how good are Laurin Mincy (LeBron James) and Bria Hartley (Kobe Bryant) and other NYC metro area travel team rumors and player moves.

It was extremely cold Friday night  outside the castle, but I made way in to see members of the Royal family play.

The friday night live match up had the boys of (14-4, 5-1) Christ the King versus the (8-4, 2-2) Archbishop Molloy. Christ the King beat Archbishop Molloy 79-61.

Even with poor shooting Christ the king ran out to a big half time lead. Led by the inside play of junior Dominykas Milka, who finished the game with 20 points/11 rebounds. Molloy made a late first half surge to cut the lead to 35-28 at half time.

Senior guard Sean Johnson of CTK was relentless, Johnson seemed to be involved in every play. Johnson’s shot was not falling, but he scored in transition, rebounded and finished the game with 24 points/9 rebounds.

Archbishop Molloy clawed their way back into the game, and with approximately six (6) minutes remaining in the game, had narrowed the score to 57-54. At that point CTK regrouped and went on a big run (14-4) and expanded their lead to 73-58.

Archbishop Molloy was led by Russell Smith’s 30 points and Ernest Rouse with 12 point, foul plagued Jin Hong also chipped in 8 point.

As reported by TK for GameBall Magazine, Monmouth had more fans and college coaches in attendance today.

The day started with John F. Kennedy HS, NY against Trenton Catholic, NJ.

JFK beat Trenton Central 49-43. JFK was led by senior guard Teara Shaw with 19 points additionally senior guard Robyn Jenkins chipped in 12 points.

Trenton Central was received contributions from senior guard Shanay Jackson with 15 points and junior guard Ashley Hines with 12 points.

Next up was Oak Hill Academy versus St. John Vianney. St. John Vianney beat Oak Hill 69-53.

St. John Vianney Game MVP, senior guard Katelyn Linney scored her 1,000 point. Oak Hill Academy junior guard Alex Rodgers contributed big time for OHA.

Everyone on the East coast is all hyped up on 6’3 freshman forward Brianna Stewart from Cicero-North HS, in Syracuse, NY and deservedly so, but let’s not forget St. John Vianney’s big time freshman guard 5’9, Michaela Marbrey, who is every bit as talented. Did I say Bird and Taurasi like, nah that’s not fair, but you get the picture.

The third game of the day was University HS versus Colts Neck HS. University beat Colts Neck 75-67, with “Lady LaBron” I mean Laurin Mincy leading the way with 32 points.

Next up was St. Peter’s versus Blair Academy. St. Peter’s wins 67-60. St. Peter’s led at half time 34-32 and had to hold off a late surge from Blair Academy to get the win.

St. Peter’s was led by junior Catherine Lewis with 26 points, senior guard Jacqueline Passalacque contributed 18 points and Christine Kline chipped in 10 points including 6 points in the final minute to help seal the victory.

Blair Academy got contributions from Senior forward and Bucknell-bound Felicia Mgbada with 21 points, while juniors Temi Fagbenie and Christelle Akon-Akech chipped in with 12 points each.

In the final game of the day it was North Babylon versus St. Rose. North Babylon runs out to an early first quarter lead and cruises to a halftime lead of 42-25.

North Babylon put up sails and cruised through the second half unchallenged to a 72-49 Victory over St. Rose.

St. John’s-bound senior guard for North Babylon scored 19 points and took home the game MVP for NB. 6’2 freshman forward Samantha Clark lead St. Rose with 14 points.

I had the pleasure of hanging with the HoopKing this weekend at the Showcase Challenge at Monmouth University. We got a little turned around coming and going, but it was a good day of hoops in the snow.

The day started with (8-2) Mary Louis knocking off Howell, NJ 55-40. Behind the scoring of St John’s-bound Amanda Burakoski’s game 14 points and sophomore guard Karin Robinson’s 8 points, the Hilltoppers jumped out to a 28-17 halftime lead, and then coasted to victory, never really being challenged in the second half.

In the second game of the day (8-5) Archbishop Molloy defeated JFK Paterson, NJ 63-37. With contributions from junior guard Kelly Guerriero 13 point, senior forward Nicole Marciniak 11 points/9 rebound and junior guard Marielle Duryea 10 points, sophomore Elizabeth Lynch returned to action for Molloy after recovering from ACL injury, oh my bad, Lynch also added 5 points.

The third game of the game pitted the (13-0) Murry Bergtraum against. Bloomfield Tech, NJ with the Lady Blazers looking to run their consecutive win streak to 66 games.

Bergtruam delivered the knockout 67-55. With junior guard Doris Ortega contributing 18 points, the “lightning rod” junior guard CeCe Dixon added 17 points, senior guard Shanee Williams chipped in 11 points and the “Daily Double” Shukurah Washington delivered 11 points/11 rebounds.

Senior guard Rayven Johnson Led Bloomfield Tech with 24 points, while junior guard Charmaine Tay added 10 points/6 assists.

Game Four of the day had Oak Hill University, my bad, Oak Hill Academy versus Trenton Catholic Academy.

Oak Hill Academy defeats Trenton Catholic 73-55.. At various times through out the game Oak Hill University, once again my bad Academy’s front line included junior big 6’5, Ariel Johnson, junior big, 6’5, LaKeesa Daniel, Junior big, 6’3, Orsi Szecsi, senior forward, 6’2, Alyssa Bennett, junior big, 6’4, Ondrea Shaw.

Oak Hill was led by senior forward and West Virginia-bound Alyssa Bennett’s 17 points/9 rebounds.

Sophomore guard 5’9, Brionna Canty of Trenton Catholic contributed 11 points/6 rebounds/6 assist, junior guard 5’5, Alvida Clemons lad Trenton Catholic in scoring with 26 points.

The finally of the day had (10-2) Manhattan Center losing to St John the Baptist 53-50, in a closely fought battle. Manhattan Center was coming off a similar defeat to Murry Bergtraum 66-59, earlier this past week.

St John’s-bound Christine Huber led SJB with 19 points/16 rebounds. China Crosby led Manhattan Center with 20 points additionally Azizza Patterson contributed 15 points.

Game MVP’s went to the following:

Mary Louis vs Howell, NJ
Senior Amanda Burakoski for Mary Louis
Sophomore Sarah Olson for Howell,NJ

JFK Paterson, NJ vs Archbishop Molloy
Junior Elaine Swaby for JFK Paterson
Junior Marielle Duryea for Molloy

Murry Bergtraum vs Bloomfield Tech, NJ
Junior Doris Ortega for Bergtraum
Senior Rayven Johnson for Bloomfield Tech

Trenton Catholic, NJ vs Oak Hill Academy
Junior Alvida Clemons for Trenton Catholic
LaKeesa Bennett for Oak Hill Academy

Manhattan Center vs St John the Baptist
Senior China Crosby for Manhattan Center
Senior Christine Huber for St John the Baptist

The snow turned out to be not bad making the trip from South Jersey to the Bronx manageable.

In Boys hoops, (5-1, 3-0 CHSAA) Rice Raiders come back to defeat the (10-2, 2-1 CHSAA) Christ the King Royals 71-58, after trailing the Royals 44-34 at the half.

The Raiders were led by James Stukes with 18 points, Jonathan Williams with 16 and senior Durand Scott chipped in 11 points. The Royals received contributions from senior Sean Johnsons with 19 points, while Dominykas Milyka added 11 points.

This past Saturday afternoon battle of Queens rivals pitted CHSAA Archbishop Molloy versus PSAL Francis Lewis HS.

Interest in the game was really peaked by AAU Xplosion teammates on both teams and the transfer of former Molloy player 5’6 junior guard Kelly Robinson to Francis Lewis HS

With former Patriots Head Coach Mike Eisenberg in the stands, the (5-3) Lady Patriots of Francis Lewis HS fall to the (6-4) Stanners of Archbishop Molloy 61-44.

The Lady Stanners received  contributions from junior guard Kelly Guerriero with 19pts, Junior forward Kyra Aloizos with 15pts/10rbs, senior guard Shannon LaVelle 12pts.

The lady Patriots were led by sophomore guard Tatiana Wilsons 12pts, 6’3 junior center Sabrina Jeridore 10pts, the floor general for the Patriots junior guard Kelly Robinson chipped in 6pts.

The Queens rivals now gear up foe the meat and potatos of their schedules.

The Lady Royals of Christ the King (7-3) behind the contributions from sophomore guard Bria Smiths 15pts and senior forward Tahira Johnsons 11pts, beat the short handed (5-2) Shenendehowa HS 60-42, to win the Shenendehowa Holiday Classic

Shenendehowa HS playing without Allie Setter and Marissa Ray were led by Emily Weber with 14pts.

GameBall had the opportunity to shine the spotlight on the class of 2010, gentle giant 6’3/C, Brittany Webb of St. Michael’s Academy in Manhattan, NY (just before their road trip to North Carolina for the Bojangles Tournament and then to Ohio to meet Columbus Africentric and Boilingbrook (IL) over the New Year’s Weekend).

Brittany Webb, reflects on this holiday season with her family, her maturity in the classroom, her maturity as a person, and maturation of her relationship with her teammates.

Brittany looks at the joy on the faces of her young nephews and cousins and realizes the true meaning of family, togetherness during this holiday season. Brittany feels the time spent with her family is the best gift she could have received this Christmas.

Brittany says that even though she’s well aware she can continue to improve on her grades, she’s excited about the progress and strides she’s already made. Brittany is more focused on my GameBall theme “Balancing the Books and the Ball”.

Brittany continues that her approach the life is more focused this year on the important things in life like family, school, the success of her St. Michael’s Academy team and of course her continued improvement on the basketball court. Additionally Brittany is grateful and thankful for the joy her mom, sisters, brothers, nephews and cousins bring her during difficult and good times.

Brittany adds that there is a greater level of respect, closeness, bondness amongst all her teammates. She referred to a conversation she had with one teammates Julleah Sidney, who encouraged her that the team needed her to play well all the time for the team to be successful. Julleah suggested to Brittany that she should be a double-double every time she steps on the court.

Brittany talked about how this years team is more reliant on each other, and that their success this will come with contributions from everyone.

The maturity of the gentle giant.
(Winston Kelly is the editor of GameBall Magazine and a contributor to Blue Star. This is one of his GameBall notes he posted on Blue Star)

Another solid day of Girls hoops, which I must apologize started late for me, but started none the less after a long day of work on Saturday (December 27th) with my taxi ride to the Murry Bergtraum High School, for the first day of the three day holiday classic. Led by the Doherty sisters Kristen and Megan, Sachem East HS knocks off Midwood HS 82-49. Sachem East was led in scoring by one of NYC’s nationally recognized juniors Kristen Doherty with 38 points, while younger sister Megan chipped in 12 points. Jessica Previlon led Midwood HS with 20 points.

The host and national power Murry Bergtraum HS beat local North Babylon HS 87-73. The Lady Blazers jumped out to a 50-32 half time lead and pretty much coasted home from there. The Lady Blazers were led by juniors Shukurah Washington’s 14 points and 16 rebounds and Doris Ortega’s 16 points. Also contributing for the Lady Blazers was the emerging Shanee Williams with 26 points that included six threes. North Babylon was led another of NYC’s nationally recognized juniors, 5-10 Bria Hartley, who led everyone in scoring with 30 points while St. John’s recruit Eugenia McPherson contributed with 26 points.

Off to Brooklyn in another taxi to Bishop Ford HS. My bad, I forgot to add that in town for the day was Mike Flynn one of Women’s Basketball’s most respected visionaries. By the way we shared the taxi ride to Brooklyn.

The Big Apple Classic and the arena for the day, Bishop Ford HS, had its usual array of talented players competing and in attendance, but emerging through everyone was a gem of a player. Your hearing it here first, a sure fired Top 10 player emerged from Syracuse New York in 2012, freshman phenom 6’3/F, Brianna Stewart. Back to the games:

Lincoln HS beats St. Mary’s Bay View (RI) 55-40. Leteisha Joseph and Dayanara Rodriguez led Lincoln in scoring with 11 points and 10 points respectively, while Vandell Andrade and Johanna Dambrowski led St. Mary’s with 7 points each. Western HS (MD) beat Thomas Jefferson with new Head Coach Pearl Washington 52-33. Ashlie Craig led Western with 20 points, while play maker Alicia Cropper orchestrated Jeffersons offense for 13 points. Cicero-North HS (Syracuse, NY) beat Bishop Kearny HS 62-47.

Cicero-North was led by 6’3/F, freshman phenom Brianna Stewart’s 18 points and Mary Egan’s 17 points. Contributing for Bishop Kearny was Christine Hiltunen with 18 points and Samantha Retas with 13 points. Mary Louis Academy beat Smithtown West HS 82-62. St. John’s recruit 6-0 senior Amanda Burakoski and talented sophomore Karin Robinson both led a balanced attack with 11 points each, while nationally emerging star, 6’0/F, junior Shaneeka Center led Smithtown West with 39 points. South Kingston HS (RI) beat Archbishop Molloy 46-42. South Kingston’s front line of 6’3, Allie Jones with 11 points and 7 rebounds and 6’0 Annie Lawlor with 10 points and 5 rebounds led the way, while Nicole Marciniak led Molloy with 16 points and Marielle Duryea contributed with 11 points. Games will continue on Sunday and Monday at Bishop Ford.

National power St. Michael’s Academy (NY) was there to watch all the games before heading off to North Carolina on Saturday morning for the Bojangles Tournament. After that they head to Columbus, OH this weekend for more games. Newark University (NJ) High School was considering playing this weekend in the Big Apple before their invite to the prestigious T-Mobile Classic in Indianapolis, IN.

Taxi ride heading back to Penn Station for my 10:42 pm train back home, while Mike Flynn caught his 10:57 home. Another day of solid NYC girls hoops.

The holiday basketball circuit is starting in the Metro New York City area.  There were no big girls basketball events last weekend as in the past.  Most of the events were all bunched together for this coming weekend.  Instead of sitting home I spent last Saturday all day at St. John’s University watching Boys Hoops. It turned out to be the PSAL vs CHSAA Challenge. 

In a tough battle (5-2) Boys & Girls beat (2-1) Christ the King 58-55. The Kangaroos were led by senior Lamon Samuall game high 19 points.  Without injured Tyreak Johnson, (4-0) St. Raymonds defeated (1-5) Campus Magnet 70-64. The Ravens were carried by junior Steve Whittingham’s 19 points.
Despite 24pts/20rbs/3blks from Siena-bound O.D. Anosike, (6-1) Wings Academy beat (3-2) St. Peter’s 88-59. Wings Academy was led by senior Ronald Baker’s game high 32 points,  In hard fought come from behind victory, Thurgood Marshall Academy outlasted Holy Cross 62-61. TMA was led by senior guard Jason Givens game high 21 points.

In the past most of the top girls basketball teams hopped on a plane to compete in the multi-divisional Tournament of Champions in Chandler, AZ run by Steve Kozaki.  This year the are coming East. The biggest event for girls basketball will be the new Festival of the Phoenix put together by the Newark University Coach Felicia Oliver. This started out as a small tournament but this year will feature a number of national-level teams including Houston Nimitz with 6-7 high-school dunker Brittney Griner. Unfortunately for the basketball fan there are two more big events operating at the same time, the Francis Lewis event and the Paterson Catholic tournaments.  The most interesting game might be the 7th-8th grade all-star game at Paterson on Saturday which should feature a number of top Metro area players. 

The big holiday tournament is now the Lady Blazers hosted by Murry Bergtraum.  This was the week when powerful Christ the King held their own girls basketball tournament.  With CK going to the TOC for pre-Christmas and requests to travel to other tournaments getting heavier the desire to have a national event disappeared. Murry Bergtraum fills the void in the holiday calendar with a greater Metro lineup of teams.
Festival of the Phoenix, At University HS, in New Jersey (G) – Girls (B) – Boys
Friday, December 19th
University HS (B) vs Kearny Christian (B) @ 4:00PM / Blair Academy (G) vs St. Frances Academy (G) @ 5:30PM / Eleanor Roosevelt, MD (G) vs Nimitz HS, TX (G) @ 7:00PM / BloomField Tech (B) vs St. Frances Academy (B) @ 8:30PM

Saturday, December 20th
St. Frances Academy, MD (B) vs University HS (B) @ 9:00AM / St. Frances Academy, MD (G) vs St. Michael’s Academy (G) @ 10:30AM / Whitney M. Young Magnet, IL (G) vs Eleanor Roosevelt, MD (G) @ 12:00PM / New Brunswick (G) vs Imothep Charter, PA (G) @ 1:30PM / Ramsay HS, AL (G) vs Trenton Catholic (G) @ 3:00PM / John F. Kennedy HS (G) vs Chester, PA (G) @ 4:30PM / University HS (G) vs Nimitz HS, TX (G) @ 6:00PM / Irvington HS (B) vs Kearny Christian (B) @ 7:30PM / Our Savior New America (B) vs Technology (B) @ 9:00PM
Sunday, December 21st
Whitney M. Young Magnet, IL (G) vs South Shore (G) @ 10:30AM / Manhattan Center HS (G) vs Ramsay HS (G) @ 12:00PM / Plainfield HS (G) vs Lincoln HS (G) @ 1:30PM / Westfield HS (G) vs Chester HS, PA (G) @ 3:30PM / Our Savior New America (B) vs Malcolm X Shabazz (B) @ 4:30PM

Francis Lewis HS Patriots Holiday Tournament In Queens, New York
Sunday, December 21st
Molloy HS vs Midwood HS @ 10:00AM / Francis Lewis HS vs Mary Louis Academy @ 11:45AM / St. Michael’s Academy vs Nichols HS @ 1:30PM / St. Peter’s HS vs North Babylon HS @ 5:00PM

She’s Got Next Invitational Classic Paterson Catholic HS, in New Jersey
Saturday, December 20th
NY All Stars vs NJ All Stars @ 2:00PM / Top 7th and 8th grade girls / St. John the Baptist vs West Roxbury, MA @ 4:00PM / Paterson Catholic vs South Shore @ 6:00PM
Sunday, December 21st
LaSalle Academy, RI vs Jefferson HS @ 3:00PM / ICA, NJ vs West Roxbury, MA @ 5:00PM / Malcolm X Shabazz vs Bishop Eustance @ 7:00PM

Lady Blazers Holiday Tournament Murry Bergtraum HS in New York
Saturday, December 27th
South Shore vs Sachem East @ 11:00AM / Curtis HS vs Truman HS @ 1:00PM / Murry Bergtraum vs North Babylon HS @ 3:00PM

Monday, December 29th
Midwood HS vs Truman HS @ 11:00AM / Murry Bergtraum vs Copaigue HS @ 1:00PM / South Shore HS vs Paint Branch HS, MD @ 3:00PM
Tuesday, December 30th
Molloy HS vs Truman HS @ 10:00AM / Mary Louis HS vs Midwood HS @ 12:00PM / Murry Bergtraum vs Paint Branch HS, MD @ 2:00PM

Hope to see you there…

Long time Head Coach Mike Eisenberg has been dismissed as gym teacher and head coach of Francis Lewis High Schools Lady Patriots.  It is alleged that due to unprofessional behavior Mike Eienberg has been released of his duties.  Coach Eisenberg led the Lady Patriots to three straight appearances in the PSAL championship game, during his fifteen (15) coaching career.

LAST MINUTE UPDATE – I learned this morning that Houston Nimitz (TX) with 6-7 star Brittney Griner will not be coming to the Festival of the Phoenix tournament.  The team was pulled by the coach and athletic director last night due to concerns by a parent over the weather status of the area and the airport travel conditions of today, the busiest travel day of the year.  Coach Oliver will fill those game slots with another team.  It would have been an opportunity for regional basketball fans to see the dunking sensation in person.