By Dylan Butler
It was the type of ending every coach hopes and prays never happens. With the game tied at 56 with 12 seconds left in regulation, Queens College women's basketball coach Jerry Ingenito forgot the game was tied. Thinking his team was down by one, Ingenito told Queens College sophomore guard Deidre McNamara to foul.
C.W. Post's Mercedes Counihan went to the line and buried both foul shots as the Lady Pioneers went ahead by two, 58-56. Queen's Kiki Dunston had a chance to tie the game with no time left on the clock, but the senior forward missed the front end of two free throws. The John Bowne grad scored the second as Queens lost the heartbreaker, 58-57, at Fitzgerald Gymnasium Saturday night.
“For some reason I thought we were down one,” Ingenito said. “It's the dumbest mistake you could make. I blew the whole game. I took the game right out of their hands.”
To say Ingenito was solely responsible for the loss, however, is not fair. The Lady Knights had 36 turnovers (63 total turnovers between the two teams) in a very ugly game. Queens (7-14, 5-12 New York Collegiate Athletic Conference) also shot just 37 percent from the field in the game.
“We were all running around flustered,” said junior center April Gross. “We don't blame him. It was in the heat of the moment. We had a chance at the end to tie it, but we didn't. It's a team effort, it's not just him.”
The fact Queens was even in the game in the final minutes was amazing. C.W. Post (9-12, 9-8) opened up a 50-34 lead on a steal and layup by freshman guard Sheila Jackson (23 points), with 6:30 left in the game.
“I thought for sure the game was over,” said C.W. Post head coach Patrice Walker. “[Ingenito] ran out of time-outs and we were up 16 and our girls stopped being aggressive.”
From there, it was all Queens College. The Lady Knights went on a brilliant 17-1 run, aided by a full court press, which led to numerous Post turnovers.
McNamara nailed a three from the top of the key and Gross followed with a steal and a layup to tie the score at 51 with two minutes left in regulation.
“It's effort and turnovers,” Ingenito said. “When we turn the ball over, we kill ourselves. They stepped up and played hard. I'm so proud of them. I feel bad because I'm the leader and I let them down.”
The Lady Pioneers came right back and Counihan scored a layup while being fouled by Gross (nine points and nine rebounds). The senior guard connected on the free throw to put Post up, 54-51, with 1:52 left.
Theresa Dollard tied the score at 54 on a rebound with one minute left. Post's Dyan Bettles and Dollard traded baskets before Ram Doucoure went to the line with 31.8 seconds left. The Post freshman missed both free throws before the crucial foul of Counihan.
Post went into the first half break ahead 26-19 and opened the second half on an 11-0 run to go ahead 35-19 with 16:40 left in the half, prompting a Queens College time-out.
Junior center Elena Rakova led Queens with 17 points and nine rebounds. Dunston added 14 points and eight boards. Counihan had 13 points and six steals for Post.
Mercy College 77, Queens 67. A late Mercy rally sealed what was a tight game throughout at Sacred Heart High School in Yonkers Thursday night. Dunston led Queens with 18 points and 12 rebounds while Anica Gant added 10 points and five assists.
