It appeared St. Francis Prep was going to keep its streak alive.
The Terriers got themselves back into the CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens Division I playoff race with Senior Night wins against Bishop Ford and Archbishop Molloy and pulled ahead of Mary Louis late in the third quarter of the Hilltoppers’ final home game.
“That’s exactly what we were thinking,” SFP guard Shatira Hamlet said of wanting to spoil the special night in Jamaica Estates.
The advantage was short lived thanks to some quick shots, turnovers and the play of TMLA senior Karin Robinson. The Terriers fell 52-45 to host Mary Louis in a girls basketball league game Wednesday night. The defeat drops them into a seventh-place finish after getting as high as fifth was possible with a win. Hamlet scored 13 points and Jenna Halaby and Megan Erdman, who again showed off her outside touch, each had 11.
“We came in to spoil their Senior Night, too,” Adelphi-bound Halaby said. “We didn’t come out the way we wanted to in the first half and we spoiled our night tonight.”
Despite a sluggish beginning, St. Francis Prep (9-13, 4-10) trailed just 25-17 at the half. After a stern halftime speech, Halaby and Co responded. She scored 10 points in the third, seven straight at one point, including a 4-point play. Halaby gave the Terriers their first lead since the first quarter at 34-33 on a layup with 2:18 left in the third. The lead could have been bigger if they kept Mary Louis’ Brianna Harris (17 points, 14 rebounds) off the backboard.
“Our guards we don’t rebound much, which leaves our forwards out to dry and this team is a good rebounding team,” said Hamlet, who SFP coach JoAnn Wagner credited with keeping her team in the game early. “That was one of our downfalls. “
Not keeping Robinson out of the lane was another. The George Mason-bound guard scored 17 points and got into gaps at will in the fourth. She tallied the first four points and fed Harris for two more during an 8-0 run by Mary Louis (15-6, 9-5) to open the frame. SFP got as close as 49-33 with 1:44 left to play after a Katherine Kraus steal and score and a 3-point play from Hamlet.
“We started to rush a few shots,” Wagner said. “We started settling for the outside shot, we rushed a few and they weren’t very positive possessions.”
Despite not pulling out another win, the Terriers are playing some of their best basketball of the season heading into playoffs. They hung with nationally ranked Nazareth for a half Sunday and battled the Hilltoppers to the last minute. Prep will need to beat No. 8 finisher Bishop Kearney in a play-in game to qualify for the CHSAA Class AA state tournament.
“We have found our rhythm,” Halaby said. “We showed we can play with any team out there right now.”
