Tina Charles called her best friend, Epiphanny Prince, when she heard that Prince had broken the national scoring record with a 113-point outburst for Bergtraum earlier this year in a 105-point win.
“I definitely congratulated her,” the Christ the King senior said of her fellow McDonald’s All-American. “Say what you want about it, but it is history. No matter how it happens, it’s an amazing thing.”
But it’s not something the UConn-bound Charles would ever hope to duplicate.
“That’s not really me,” Charles said. “I’d rather break the rebounding record.”
While she may not have any prolific scoring marks, Charles has developed into one of the top players to come out of New York City. The center, who swears she didn’t know anything about Chamique Holdsclaw or Sue Bird’s CTK careers before she got to the school, has joined their company.
“I know it sounds crazy, but I had no idea about who went here,” Charles said. “But I know who they are now.”
Charles can further cement her status if she can lead the Lady Royals to a pair of victories in the state Federation tournament that begins tomorrow in Glens Falls. To successfully defend its state title, 28-0 CTK will have to beat Rush-Henrietta (Rochester) and then Prince’s Bergtraum PSAL championship squad Saturday.
Regardless of the outcome this weekend, coach Bob Mackey believes she has already proven herself.
“She definitely belongs there with the others as one of the best,” Mackey said. “She’s so talented and I think she’s the hardest worker in the city, if not the country.”
Charles has had to be this year. Although the Lady Royals are again loaded with talent, they lost nine seniors off last year’s title-winning team. “I never thought we would get to this point without any losses,” Mackey said. “No way. But they’ve done everything they could do this year.”
Mackey believes that is largely due to Charles.
“This is Tina’s team,” Mackey said. “I didn’t know she would develop into the kind of leader she has.”
Now the Lady Royals are two wins away from their second straight undefeated season. Their last loss came in Glens Falls – to Bergtraum two years ago.
“I never wanted to have that feeling again,” Charles said. “Hopefully, I won’t have to.”
