Girls: Lady Lions Take Down Christ the King
MIDDLE VILLAGE, NY - You could say that this year's Bishop Loughlin team has come together in a big way. While last year was more about the individual, this year it's more about the team, and that change has spurred the Lady Lions to being a true CHSAA title contender.
That position was solidified even more on Saturday as after taking the subway from Fort Greene, Brooklyn to Queens together as a team, the Lady Lions went out and led from start to finish to take down Christ the King on the road 69-56.
The plan wasn't necessarily to take the train to Christ the King on Saturday. Bishop Loughlin intended to take their own bus to Queens, but a mix up in scheduling had the JV game pushed back from 11am to 1pm which didn't allow time for the bus, which had taken the JV to Queens earlier, to come back and pick the varsity group up for their 3pm game.
Kids started to plan to get car rides from parents or , but that wasn't what Loughlin head coach Chez Williams wanted. He didn't feel that everyone arriving separately would help with team chemistry so he came up with another plan.
"I just felt for a game like this you don't want two people going in one car, and someone else in another, we should all be together so I was just like we are taking the train," Williams said for his reasoning behind the move.
Williams admitted that when he told the team about going on the train to the game that he got a few crazy looks, but he wanted to arrive to Christ the King as a team, not as individuals, because it's the coming together as a team that the coach knows will help them get to where they want to be.
Maybe it was the fact they all came together as one into the gym, or maybe it was just that they were the better team on this day, but Bishop Loughlin took control from the opening tip and never looked back en route to the surprising victory.
It wasn't just one person who did it for Bishop Loughlin on Saturday, it was once again all about the team like Williams wants. Lynette Taitt '17 was able to get it going early on making moves to attack the basket and finish to give the Lady Lions the early lead, but into the 2nd quarter it was young freshman sensation guard Laysha de la Santos '19 who knocked down back to back treys, as well as getting up the floor in transition for easy buckets.
Most of the Christ the King team struggled with Royals head coach Bob Mackey noting that the team definitely looked sluggish. Another freshman in forward Kaelynn Satterfield '19 was the lone bright spot in the early going for CK as she had 10 points at the half, but Bishop Loughlin was in firm control with a 34-25 lead.
There was a small chance for Christ the King to get back into the game late in the 3rd as after Sydney Zambrotta '16 knocked down a three from the corner, the Loughlin lead was down to 44-38 with 1:46 to play in the quarter. Bishop Loughlin didn't wilt though as Milicia Reid '17 scored on a big finish driving in past two defenders, and then off a steal guard Ellease Billings '16 was able to finish as the Lady Lions scored the last 5 in the 3rd quarter to take a 49-38 lead into the 4th.
It seemed as if that late 3rd quarter push by Christ the King was their last effort at getting back in the game as coming off the tremendous performance in a win on Friday night over Long Island Lutheran seemed to have left with nothing in the tank down the stretch against Bishop Loughlin.
Be it Billings or Reid or Taitt, or really anyone on the floor for the Lady Lions late in the game, whatever they were doing was working, building up a lead of as much as 16 points in the 4th before closing it out late for the 69-56 victory.
With Williams preaching that everyone needs to have a good game each time out, he had to be happy with the balanced scoring attack for his Lady Lions in this one as Billings had a game high 16 points, with Taitt adding 15 points, de la Santos scoring 14 points, and Reid chipping in with 12 points.
It was an important for for Bishop Loughlin in gaining confidence heading into the playoffs now as the #2 seed for the Brooklyn/Queens Diocese Tournament which begins a week from Monday, but for seniors like Billings, it was their first chance to taste victory at Christ the King, something that made the win even more special.
"Out of my 3 years on varsity here we have always been the underdogs," Taitt said. "So to beat them today means a lot."
It may not have been the way Mackey wanted his Christ the King team to enter the playoffs though. Satterfield led Christ the King with 15 points in the loss, and while the Royals are still the #1 seed going into the B/Q Tournament, Mackey wasn't happy with just about anything he saw out on the floor from his team.
He wasn't happy, but he wasn't surprised either as Mackey did say after the game that he was concerned at 3am watching tape of Bishop Loughlin, and concerned when he got to the gym on Saturday morning that the team would be a bit flat after Friday's superb performance, but he was most of all sad that this would be how, what he calls, a sensational group of seniors would have to go out in there last home game.
"It's unfortunate that this is their last home game, last time they dress here, and this is how they have to go out," Mackey stated. "They shouldn't have gone out that way but they just didn't have it."
They didn't have it but Bishop Loughlin did as this is a win that Williams hopes can carry up his team the rest of the way, giving them the belief and confidence that they can become CHSAA champions.
It won't be easy, and Williams knows that, but maybe the train ride to Middle Village was just what this Lady Lions team needed to really come together as one. It may not be the last train ride they take either because Williams will do it again if it means a CHSAA Championship is waiting for him and his team at the end of the day.
"Whatever works," Williams said with a smile.
