By Dylan Butler
Dawn Coleman was sitting on the bench nursing a sore right ankle, Alaina Davis had just fouled out and the Francis Lewis girls’ basketball team saw its 12-point lead disappear as the Patriots trailed Bishop Kearney by five with 2:23 left in the fourth quarter.
Desperate for an answer, Francis Lewis found it in Coleman, who came off the bench to score back-to-back buckets in the Patriots’ 56-51 come-from-behind win in the consolation game of the Monsignor King tournament at St. Thomas Aquinas in Brooklyn Monday.
“I didn’t want to put Dawn back in. I said, ‘Dawn, don’t be a hero,’” Lewis coach Mike Eisenberg said. “She said, ‘coach, I’m fine.’”
A day after shooting a combined 2-for-14 from three-point range in an eight-point loss to St. Michael’s, Jasmin Lawrence and Diatiema Hill shot 8-for-11 from long range as Francis Lewis (18-4) threatened to put the game away after a tight first half, going on a 14-0 run to open the third quarter to take a 40-28 lead.
But Bishop Kearney (3-10) wouldn’t go away.
The Tigers used the interior presence of Maria Laterza (10 points, 11 rebounds) and Maryann Welsh (19 points, 12 rebounds) to go on a 23-6 run and took a 56-51 lead on a three-pointer by Kristina Triglia with 2:23 left in the fourth quarter.
“The goal is to be ready for March and we’re getting there,” said Kearney coach Cathy Crockett. “In this tournament, two out of three games we took steps forward. That’s a positive thing.”
That’s when Coleman took over. The junior forward, who had eight points and seven rebounds, hit a turnaround jumper and then scored, slashing to the basket to get Francis Lewis within one.
Hill (16 points, four rebounds, four blocks) then put the Patriots ahead for good on a 16-foot jumper with 59 seconds left.
“It was still kind of hurting, but we were down and I had to help my team out anyway I can, even if I was in pain,” Coleman said of her right ankle, which she rolled early in the third quarter. “That’s what a team player does.”
Kearney had a chance to take the lead, but point guard Nicole Estrada traveled with 16.9 on the clock. After Lawrence (22 points) sunk a pair of free throws, Jen Lawlor nearly sent the game into overtime, but the senior guard’s open three-point attempt from the right side rimmed out with five seconds left.
“I was looking at the ball and it looked like it took forever to get to the rim,” Eisenberg said. “I’m thinking 19 different things and the first was, ‘exactly where is my defensive player?’”
St. Michael’s 50, Francis Lewis 42. Lawrence had 11 points, four rebounds and three steals for the Patriots in the Monsignor King semifinals Sunday. Harris had 11 points, Vaughn had six points and 20 rebounds, and Mia Marcus had eight points, six rebounds and four steals for St. Michael’s.
Francis Lewis 66, Stella Maris 37. Jessica Fuller had 12 points, eight rebounds and four blocks, and Hill added 12 points, six steals and four rebounds for Francis Lewis in the first round of the Monsignor King tournament Saturday.
John Adams 38, Beacon 34. Dinorah Diaz had 26 points to lead John Adams in the MLK Invitational at Lab Museum Sunday. The Spartans lost to Humanities, 49-36, in a first-round game Saturday.
Cardozo 66, Canarsie 61. Britni Bolden had 22 points and 13 rebounds, and Leah Lipschitz added 18 points and 10 rebounds for Cardozo (11-8).
Forest Hills 53, Flushing 37. Betina Madrid had 14 points, Albana Gega scored 13 points and Katie Gilbert added 10 for Forest Hills (12-6, 9-6 Queens II-B).
John Bowne 72, Bayside 50. Tacheyana Brown had 31 points, Gizette Knight had 15 points and 12 rebounds, and Ashanti Middleton added 12 points and three assists for Bowne (17-1) in a non-league win.
Newtown 54, Newcomers 27. Maria Loor had 25 points and 22 rebounds, and Talaya Melton had 10 points and 10 steals for Newtown (7-9 Queens II-B).
Beach Channel 56, John Adams 24. Katreem Palmer had 15 points and 13 rebounds, Charlene Green had 11 points and six rebounds, and Chaquita Ivory added eight points and 10 assists for Beach Channel (17-2).
Grover Cleveland 47, Franklin K. Lane 25. Jill Miller had nine points and Amanda Cruz added eight for Cleveland (10-8, 7-6 Queens I-B).
Forest Hills 55, American Studies 48. Gilbert had 20 points, Kaity Tong had 14 points and Gega added 10 points for the Rangers.
Reach Associate Sports Editor Dylan Butler by email at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 143.
