Wings senior Rykema Stone rises above her defenders for an uncontested jumpshot. (An Rong Xu)
Juan Gonzalez clapped his hands together as he walked toward the bench, a wide grin on his face.
“We showed them who the real champions are,” the Wings Academy coach said.
The Wings haven’t hoisted the trophy yet. But their 65-59 win over Goldstein at the PSAL ‘A’ Girls Basketball Showcase on Saturday at the HS for Construction certainly makes them the early favorites. The Dolphins held a small lead throughout, but Wings (11-1) made all the plays down the stretch.
“It was very big,” Wings senior guard Aquillin Hayes said. “There were a lot of nay sayers that didn’t have any faith in us. Coming through with this win shows people that we’re in this to really win it.”
After Goldstein (7-1) lost the lead for a few seconds, Chrissy McKeever’s driving layup put the Dolphins back up 56-54 with 2:33 left in the game. But they had just one more field goal the rest of the way when Danielle Natoli’s runner cut the Wings deficit to 61-58 with 30 seconds left.
On the ensuing inbounds, Goldstein junior Nora Elbassiony got a steal and was fouled. She made one of two foul shots to make it a two-point game, but Wings senior star forward Rykema Stone, not known for her foul shooting, made both free throws on the other end and the Dolphins were unable to convert multiple opportunities to score.
“I actually made my free throws,” laughed the New Haven-bound Stone, who was 5-of-6 from the line in the fourth quarter.
Hayes was almost unstoppable for Wings, finishing with 25 points. Junior forward Tyler Moses had 16 points and Stone added 14 for last season’s PSAL Class A runner-up. Stone called the Wings’ blowout loss to Medgar Evers in the final year as a learning experience.
“It definitely was,” Stone said. “That game was a horrible experience. Now we’re just trying to make it to the championship this time and win instead of losing by so much.”
Gonzalez switched out of his usual zone in the second half and went with a man-to-man to combat Goldstein’s superior 3-point shooting. The Dolphins had four 3s before the break and just one after. Elbassiony had 15 points, Chrissy McKeever and Brittany McDonough each had 13 points and Natoli added 12 for Goldstein, last year’s Class B champion.
“I’m real happy,” Gonzalez said. “I’m ecstatic, because they beat a tough team. I know they’re a tough team. Hopefully somebody will knock them out before they play us again.”
The coach told his players before the game that the only ones who could beat them were themselves. Wings has now defeated Goldstein and Brooklyn Collegiate, two teams expected to be in the mix for a Class A title. The Wings, with their length, athleticism and experience, have to be looked at as the favorites – especially after Saturday.
“Coming into the season, we were the team to beat,” Gonzalez said. “But other people were in denial. I know what we’ve got. We had a great team last year, but we’ve got a stronger team this year.”
