You call that a holiday break? I mean, yeah there were holidays – Christmas and New Year’s were lovely. But that whole “break” thing I’m not too sure about. In fact, the last week or so was probably the girls basketball season’s busiest until the playoffs.
During a four-day span from Dec. 27 to Dec. 30, my colleague Joe Staszewski and I saw more girls basketball games than originally thought humanly possible. And when we weren’t in a gym, we were on the Brooklyn Queens Expressway shuttling between the Bergtraum Holiday Classic and the Big Apple Recruiting Christmas Classic at Bishop Ford. Staszewski even traveled to Bayonne, N.J. for a 8:15 p.m. tip in the Marist HS Christmas Tournament final between St. Peter’s and Moore Catholic after an afternoon at Ford.
It was a stretch that didn’t want to end – c’mon, who would have thought the final game of the week, St. Saviour-Lafayette, would have gone to double overtime.
As if that wasn’t enough, Aviator Complex in Brooklyn held yet another event Saturday and Sunday. We didn’t miss a second. It was a veritable girls hoops smorgasbord.
And there were plenty of things we learned. Here’s a look at a few bold statements that we’re confidence enough to utter after the holiday break.
BERGTRAUM’S CECE DIXON CAN BE ONE OF THE TOP GUARDS IN THE COUNTRY
That’s not hyperbole. Playing against a very impressive St. John’s College (D.C.) squad that should be nationally ranked, Dixon willed the Lady Blazers to a victory Wednesday. She had 15 of her 25 points in the second half and made every single big play down the stretch – much like she did in the postseason last year. Afterward, my colleague Zach Braziller, who covered the game, could not stop raving about Dixon, comparing her quite favorably to her sister, Lorin, who started the season as a starter for No. 1 UConn. Zach’s not crazy either – he covered Lorin for her entire career at Christ the King.
FRANCIS LEWIS IS THE SECOND BEST TEAM IN THE PSAL AFTER BERGTRAUM
No team raised its stock more than the Patriots, even though point guard Kelly Robinson went down with a knee injury last Tuesday against Western (Md.) at Ford. But Lewis went on to win that game in her absence and then junior guard Tatiana Wilson went off in a win the next morning against Mary Louis at Bergtraum. We should find out more about Robinson this week.
KARIN ROBINSON DOESN’T NEED TO BE SUPERGIRL FOR MARY LOUIS TO WIN
When I told a few coaches at Ford on Tuesday that Mary Louis had beaten South Shore, 80-46, earlier that day, they had one question: How many points did Robinson have? 35? 40? 50? Nope. Try 14. Senior guard Camille Romero actually led the way with 17 points. Then, one day later, Mary Louis lost to Francis Lewis and Robinson led the way with 25. Her supporting cast was non-existent. The Hilltoppers’ key isn’t Robinson going off. It’s their role players contributing.
MOLLOY CAN PLAY WITH ANY TEAM IN THE CITY – JUST NOT CONSISTENTLY
There weren’t too many people expecting the Stanners to do anything but get blown out of the gym by Bergtraum last Monday. It didn’t happen. Molloy lost, 66-63, and had a chance to tie on its final possession. The Stanners are talented, smart and versatile enough to beat any team on any given day when seniors Kyra Aloizos and Kelly Guerriero are on. Yet Molloy is still prone to laying eggs like that 77-44 loss to St. John’s College in which it all but gave up.
SOUTH SHORE ISN’T READY FOR PRIMETIME JUST YET
Coach Anwar Gladden has about as much young talent this side of St. Mike’s. But the “young” was more prevalent than the “talent” last week. South Shore got handed its lunch on back-to-back days by Mary Louis and Bishop Ford, losing by a combined 53 points. That was a shock after the Vikings looked so impressive in wins against Midwood and Mount Vernon.
BISHOP KEARNEY AND JEFFERSON ARE NOT WHO WE THOUGHT THEY WERE
Kearney’s rout of Jefferson on Wednesday was perhaps the biggest shocker of the week. Bishop Kearney was supposed to be down, losing its best player to graduation (Christina Hiltunen) and its longtime coach (Cathy Crockett). That’s just not so. Sam Retas has emerged as an absolute star from relative anonymity and the Tigers are going to give teams like Mary Louis, Molloy and Bishop Ford all they can handle in league play. On the other hand, Jefferson has gone from a contender to reach the PSAL finals at Madison Square Garden to something of a lovable underdog. Providence-bound guards Alicia Cropper and Danielle Pearson are so talented and try so hard with little help around them. It’s hard not to root for them.
MIDWOOD AND JOHN F. KENNEDY ARE THE PSAL’S VERSION OF DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE
Both teams can look so good at times. Midwood has routed Bishop Loughlin, it owns a win against Long Island power North Babylon. Yet it was decimated by Molloy and St. Mary’s (L.I.) and beaten by Kennedy last week. Kennedy has squeaked by teams like Truman and DeWitt Clinton and got crushed upstate by Corcoran (N.Y.). Then the Knights returned from the break, nipped Midwood and beat up on St. John Villa. Which teams will we see next week, next month and in March? Beats the hell out of me.
In closing, I want to give a few shoutouts to the tournament organizers. Ed Grezinsky of Bergtraum, Mike Toro and the Exodus crew who ran the event at Ford and John Nies of Aviator all did a fine job. Just about everything was on time, the games were intriguing and you guys took care of us whenever needed.
However, I’m still waiting for that free food Nies promised this weekend. After all that girls basketball, I was starving. Man, I think I need a break.
