By Dylan Butler
But in big games, like Monday's Monsignor King championship game at St. Thomas Aquinas in Brooklyn, one particular girl seems to pick up her game.
Sophomore point guard Teresa Rozza led the Patriots with 22 points and five assists in Francis Lewis' 60-50 win over two-time defending tournament champs Bishop Kearney. Rozza was named MVP of the tournament. She was also named MVP of the Wingate Christmas/Kwanzaa tournament last month as the Patriots defeated Brooklyn Tech for the title.
“Teresa plays very well in big games,” Eisenberg said. “In big, important games, she has had her best games.”
On Monday, in a hostile, pro-Kearney environment, Rozza stepped up right away, scoring eight of the Patriots first 13 points. Lewis (19-1) opened the game on a 9-0 run and held a comfortable lead through most of the first half. But on a three-pointer by Caitlin Boyle, Kearney trimmed the Patriots lead to 35-29 at the break.
“I was a little disappointed because we were only up six at the half,” Eisenberg said. “I thought we should have been up more.”
Francis Lewis extended its lead to 55-39 after three and did a good job of defending a dangerous Tigers three-point shooting team to cruise to the win.
“Our perimeter defense was very good today,” Eisenberg said. “[Kearney] is very similar to Holy Trinity. They are a very good perimeter team that shoots a lot of threes. We stressed yesterday and today we had to take away the three. They made a couple today, but we made them work for their threes.”
Freshman Jasmin Lawrence (13 points) and Lissette Morales (nine points, nine rebounds) were named to the all-tournament team. Alanna Adams added four points and 10 boards for the Patriots while Boyle led Kearney (8-5) with 18 points.
In the opening game of the Monsignor King tournament, Lewis defeated St. Edmund's 49-36 Saturday. Lawrence had 12 points and Adams added eight points for Lewis. Diane Buono scored a game-high 17 points for St. Edmund's (3-8).
In a 66-53 semifinal win over Holy Trinity Sunday, Rozza had 15 points, Adams chipped in with 14 and Lawrence added 10. Trinity was led by their star, Jessica Dlabola, who scored 17 points, but was limited from the outside by a tough Lewis zone defense.
Cardozo 55, Manhattan Center 45. Shavonne Roundtree was virtually unstoppable, scoring 32 points to lead the Judges to an impressive 10-point win Saturday morning. January Johnson added 17 points and 10 boards for Cardozo (13-5), which extended a 21-17 halftime lead to 40-30 after three quarters.
Newtown 49, Cleveland 48. Laura Drulyte scored nine points, but none were more important than a free throw with four seconds left to lift Newtown (10-8) to the win. Monica Pahl scored 20 points for the Pioneers, while Jennifer Barenboim scored a game-high 22 points for Cleveland.
Hillcrest 60, Springfield Gardens 39. Quetant Inez (27 points) and Naoimi Philocles (11 points) led the way for the Hawks.
Flushing 49, Edison 45. Monet Pledger had 28 points and Shaniqua Edmonds added 17 for the Red Devils (4-14). Jillian Decoursey paced Edison with 21 points.
Jamaica 53, Forest Hills 40. Erica Smith had 26 points and Whitney Harris added 14 points for Jamaica (4-12). Katherine Shea had 15 points for Forest Hills.
Townsend Harris 73, Far Rockaway 20. Andi Strauss's 13 points paced Harris (12-3).
Edison 47, Newcomers 40 (3OT). Jillian Decoursey (20 points) and Nina Walls (15 points) led the Inventors (3-12, 3-6 Queens B-II). Samia Bousbaci paced Newcomers with 17 points.
American Studies 59, Long Island City 54. Tenessa Roizman had 27 points and Katherine Ramirez chipped in 17 points for American Studies (2-9, 2-6 Queens B-II).
Campus Magnet 50, Richmond Hill 25. Delores Mayweather scored a team-high 16 points and Melanie Ingram added 11 points for Magnet (5-4, 5-3 Queens B-I).
Bayside 65, Robert F. Wagner 32. Kim Hattan scored 10 points and Gayle Silverstein added nine for the Commodores (13-4, 8-1 Queens B-III).
Cardozo 62, Hillcrest 39. Shavonne Roundtree netted 24 points and added five assists while Christina Curatolo added 10 points and five boards for the Judges (12-5, 5-3 Queens A-I).
John Adams 46, Far Rockaway 29. Diorha Diaz had 16 points and 11 rebounds and Amanda Sanders had 12 points and 10 rebounds to lead Adams (14-1, 9-0 Queens B-I).
RFK 53, Renaissance 34. Raven Rodriguez had 14 points and Jackie Lagoa added 10 for RFK (8-11, 5-4 Queens B-II).
Cleveland 41, Bowne 24. Jennifer Barenboim had 21 points and Ina Serri added 10 rebounds for the Indians (9-3, 8-1 Queens B-II).
