Nazareth’s Bianca Cuevas (r.) scored 16 points in a win over CK earlier this season. ( Christina Santucci)
Repeating a historically rare feat is always harder than the first time.
Back in November, Nazareth invaded Middle Village and handed Christ the King a season-opening loss and just its third regular-season defeat to a league opponent in 11 years, 51-47, causing an early shift of power in the CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens Division I. The two New York State girls basketball powers, both stocked with Division I talent, have gone their separate ways since, but play the second of possibly four meetings 1 p.m. Saturday in Brooklyn.
“It’s going to be hard,” Nazareth junior point guard Darius Faulk said. “They are going to come out even harder since we beat them and we didn’t even beat them by that much the last time we played them.”
A win gives the Lady Kingsmen an inside track to the regular-season title in a league the Royals have dominated for more than two decades. A season ago Bishop Ford knocked off CK in the December, only to lose the second time around.
“This would be a big win for us,” Royals freshman Sierra Calhoun said. “We are looking at this as one of the games that we need to win.”
Lady Kingsmen coach Apache Paschall likened it to the second matchup between UNLV and Duke in 1991 after the Running Rebels, considered to have more talent, trounced the Blue Devils by 30 points the year before. He said Duke and coach Mike Krzyzewski figured out how to beat UNLV’s amoeba defense, similar to the one his team employs.
“It’s definitely going to be harder because they got better,” Paschall said. “They always get better during the season. Their coaches are smart. History tells us that they know how to figure it out.”
What has changed and what needs to be better isn’t rocket science to the Royals, ranked No. 2 in the city by The Post behind Nazareth. Even after the first defeat they felt they would improve since it was just their first game after winning the state Federation Class AA title the year prior. They have been battle tested at the Nike Tournament of Champions and by Neptune (N.J.) and Archbishop Carroll (Pa.).
“We all knew that it was our first game and we could have played better,” CK guard Bria Smith said. “Now getting our second chance with it and having more experience playing together I think that we will be better ready for it.”
For the Royals (12-5, 8-1 B/Q) it means taking better care of the basketball, improving their rebounding and keeping their composure against Nazareth’s length and athleticism. Calhoun can be a help to Smith, Nia Oden and Rayne Connell in some of those areas. The highly regarded forward was still on the CK JV team for the first meeting. Her 6-foot frame and new found assertiveness will be an asset.
“She gives us another viable [scoring] option,” Royals coach Bob Mackey said. “She also handles the ball. She can also see over the zone. She is also a real big target.”
Nazareth freshman guard Bianca Cuevas believes she will be more of a target for the Christ the King defense this time around after dropping in 16 points against the Royals in Queens. The Lady Kingsmen (18-2, 10-0), ranked No. 10 in the country by USA Today, come into the game fresh off wins against Archbishop Wood (Pa.) and University (N.J.) at the PSAL/John F. Kennedy Challenge last weekend. Cuevas had 19 points versus the Phoenix, Brianna Sidney has shot well of late and Taylor Ford has been a dominant offensive player.
“A lot of people, they don’t like us,” Cuevas said. “They want use to fail. A lot of people don’t think we can beat them.”
Nazareth is looking for a more convincing win after feeling like they let the Royals back in the game in the final minutes. Paschall knows the one regular-season win means nothing in the grand scheme of things because of CK’s rich tradition. Like them, consistency is what they’re striving for.
“That’s the team for years that have been the team of excellence,” Paschall said. “They carry the medal of excellence. That’s the team until somebody constantly beats them. I always feel like we walk into games and we are down 10 because of their jersey, the great CTK.”
This season, the Lady Kingsmen have been the standard bearers to date, the team that right now stands in the way of Christ the King reaching its season goal. A win Saturday gets things even with the diocesan and CHSAA state playoffs on the horizon.
“They are going to be one of the people that we are going to have to play to get where we want to be for Federation champs,” Smith said. “So just playing them is going to be one of the steps to getting there.”
