By Anthony Bosco
Bob Mackey and the Christ the King Royals will have a chance to silence the doubters Saturday when they play St. Francis Prep for the varsity girls Catholic High School Athletic Association Class A Brooklyn/Queens Diocesan championship.
Mackey, in his first year at the helm of the Royals, having taken over for longtime coach Vincent Cannizarro, has heard the doubters all year long. Critics had said the Royals were no longer the dominant team that had reigned supreme over the Class A State Federation Title for a decade and that this was the year the team would fall.
But the coach and his team have prevailed. Though the team's unprecedented streak of consecutive league wins was snapped by Loughlin, it is Christ the King that will represent Brooklyn/Queens in the Class A states, an honor the team earned by winning the regular season crown, again.
“The one thing everyone keeps forgetting about this group is that we have only two people who played this year,” Mackey said of his inexperienced team, which has relied heavily on its two returning starters, Clare Droesch and Tricia Turbidy. “It takes time. It doesn't happen overnight, it comes with experience.
“We're actually just starting to hit our stride I think,” he added.
The Royals showed just how good they can be this past weekend, beating Bishop Kearney, 76-51, to advance to the Brooklyn/Queens Diocesan championship game and a third meeting with St. Francis Prep.
In the team's most recent win, Turbidy poured in 22 points, with three blocks and 12 rebounds. Her 22 points gave her 1,000 points for her career, a mark Droesch eclipsed earlier this season. Droesch finished the game with 29 points and Cigi McCollin added nine.
The win did not look like a runaway win early. Kearney's Janelle McManus scored 14 of her teams' 17 points in the first quarter and Kearney started the second quarter with a 17-16 lead. After McManus added five more early in the second, Mackey took action.
“We decided we had enough by then,” said the coach, who told his players to employ a box-and-one defense that focused on McManus. “Every time she turned around there was somebody else blocking her.”
McManus scored one point the rest of the way.
St. Francis Prep should give Christ the King a tough test Saturday. Christ the King owned the Terriers in their first league meeting, winning, 82-57, but struggled to an 63-59 overtime win when they visited the Fresh Meadows school.
Mackey is not expecting another blowout, but another tough game from the Prep, which, win or lose Saturday, will represent the Brooklyn/Queens Diocesan in the Class 'B' State Federation championship.
St. Francis Prep defeated Bishop Loughlin, 54-48, but had to hold on to do it. After racing out to a 27-12 first half lead, Prep had to keep the Lions at bay down the stretch. Victoria Wancel his four first quarter threes and finished with 16, followed by Meghan-Ann Collins with 12 points and 10 rebounds, Dawn Gorynski with 10 and Lauren Kilduff with nine points and 10 rebounds.
“It was a big win for us, a big win for the program,” said Prep coach Tom Finn, whose team improved to 20-6 overall with the win, but more importantly, gives Prep another shot at Christ the King.
“I'm looking to play as well as we did the last time,” the coach added. “The only thing we didn't do was win the game. We're peaking at the right time. If we ever had a shot at them this is it.”
The winner of the game will play St. Peter's for the city championship next week.
“This should be a tremendous game,” Mackey said. “They have eight seniors, they're very, very experienced and they can put points on the board.”
The game will be played at St. Francis College in Brooklyn Heights at 5 p.m. on Saturday.
Brooklyn/Queens Class B
St. John's Prep and St. Agnes will meet for a third time this season Saturday at St,. Francis College when the two Queens clubs battle for the Brooklyn/Queens Diocesan Class B championship.
St. John's Prep advanced to the finals by beating St. Joseph's of Brooklyn, 65-33. Teresa Williams led the Red Storm with 21 points, followed by 13 from Barbara O'Connor.
St. John's Prep, coached by Ed Flood, won the regular season B championship by avenging an earlier defeat to St. Agnes Monday, Feb. 28.
St. Agnes, coached by Nick Carrione, defeated Fontbonne Hall, 50-38, to reach the title game. The game was close until the fourth quarter, when St. Agnes pulled away. Jessica Negulic led with 15, followed by Rosemarie Reily and Maureen O'Hara with 12.
“I'm hoping it's a good game,” Carrione said. “Every year we seem to split in the regular season. And the last two years St. John's has beaten us in the playoffs. I'm hoping this year it's different.”
“It should be a very good game,” Flood agreed.
Notes: Bishop Loughlin will represent the Brooklyn/Queens Diocesan in the Class C State Federation tournament, while The Mary Louis Academy, Stella Maris, Bishop Ford and St. Edmund will play off for the right to be the Class D State Federation title this week.
The CHSAA Federation Championship will be held in Queens this year, with the preliminary rounds being played at St. Francis Prep on March 15 through 17 and the finals at St. John's University on Saturday, March 18.
