DAC Junior Girls
The first place McDonald’s of Bayside Rockets lost to the Washington Mutual Bank Sparks in a spectacular 31-30 slugfest. The Rockets were in the lead for most of the game with Sarah Friedman scoring seven points and Yvonne Uriate six points. The entire Rocket squad contributed to every game and shares in this honorable mention. They are: Kimberly Mejia (avg. 10 ppg), Natalie Pruden (avg 8 ppg), Sarah Ho, Stacy Schimmel, Stacy Faiman and Allison Belfer.
This night, however, belonged to the Washington Mutual Bank Sparks Molly and Olivia Karow, who scored 15 and 10 points, respectively. Adding what became the deciding points for the Sparks were Lisa and Lauren Ventimiglia and Kayla Laskin with a bucket each. Honorable mention goes to Angeliki Lourdas, Jesse Naftaly, Samantha Dugan and Danni Yaron— all give 100 percent.
The Marino Bros. Liberty continued their valient efforts led by Carlie Epstein, who scored nine points, to keep the Liberty in the game, but the Liberty’s hopes for a win were thwarted by the Pier 25A Lightning in in the final moments for a 17-13 loss. Joy Hallmark scored eight points and the unstoppable Brittany Cervino also scored eight. The Liberty’s Alexis Giokas and Lauren Block did a great job in passing to open up the court for Carlie to score key baskets in the fourth quarter.
The Pier 25A Lightning slipped into second place this week after two disappointing defeats. They lost a defensive battle to the Washington Mutual Bank Sparks, 16-13, despite the valiant efforts of Lauren Mione, Dayana Truffillo and Nicole Costa. Led by Jessie Naftaly, Kayla Laskin and Danni Yaron, the Sparks’ defense proved too strong.
The McDonald’s of Bayside Rockets zipped through the Pier 25A Lightning, 37-30, and took a firm command of first place. Kimberly Mejia once again was the high scorer with an outstanding 15 points, followed by Natalie Pruden with 10.
Stacy Schimmel, Stacy Faiman and Stephanie Zacharuk put in strong performances for the Rockets with key assists in the final quarter. The Marino Bros. Liberty players have solved their personnel problem and are a very tough team to beat despite their 0-6 record.
Every game has come down to the last segment where they just run out of gas. Their 22-17 loss to the Sparks was disappointing, but the team is optimistic with the addition of Carlie Epstein, who scored 10 points for the Liberty.
DAC Senior Girls
The competition is getting fierce, and the girls at Pizza Chef refuse to go down without a fight. No one person makes a team. No matter who scores, there is always someone who has to pass, dribble or block.
So let’s talk about a gutsy Anna Lizzul or a feisty Alana Laskin, who can rough it up with the best, or Nicole Davalos, who is not afraid to grab the ball. Let’s talk about the stamina of Julia Fusfeld, week after week, or Alana Glaubiger’s picking up the slack while the team still suffers from injuries, or Joanna Ramirez’s giving 100 percent.
Let’s talk about their rallying in the fourth quarter, matching every basket that Christina Agnello or Christina Trezza of Patrick J. Falci & Daughters Inc. made. Let’s talk about how hard they made newcomer Samantha Tuckner work. Keren Baruch, known for her defensive ability, stunned everyone with two shots that looked like they were launched from half court. After the dust was settled, Patrick J. Falci & Daughters Inc. Edged out Pizza Chef, 36-31.
If that game weren’t exciting enough, how about Trio GCA’s sliding passed Wood Designers, 29-25, in the same night? Samantha Zelnick took charge after halftime. Down by eight points, Zelnick was not concerned. She knew Zoi Marguiles, Katie Uriarte and Stephanie Mejia were ready.
They almost pulled it off by scoring 14 points in the last quarter. If it were not for Elena Brandes’ blocking some great shots or Donna Cafasso’s stealing the ball, they might have made it.
DAC Novice Boys
PJ Falci & Daughters Sixers 42, Cascarino’s Nets 41 (OT). In one of the highest-scoring games of the year, the Sixers defeated the Nets in a battle of the point guards. Justin Braswell of the Sixers and Anthony Zullo of the Nets each scored 32 points for their teams. Darren Minsky had six points and played stellar defense to keep the Nets in this back-and-forth battle. Anthony Agnello chipped in with eight points to help the Sixers improve to 4-3 on the season.
Washington Mutual Bank Spurs 20, Pier 25A Mavericks 18. If close scoring and tight defense is your kind of basketball, then this game was a classic. Led by Keith Rosengarten (seven points) and Andrew Rathaus (eight points), the Spurs held off the Mavericks with the game being decided in the final seconds. The Mavericks were led by Matthew Hacker (nine points), Adam Strumpf (six points) and Chris Constantopoulos (three points).
Cascarino’s Nets 32, Bayside McDonald’s Knicks 24. Just like our New York area basketball teams, these little Nets and Knicks are tops in the league. In a battle of teams looking for the top spot in the novice division, the Nets defeated the Knicks. The Nets’ leading scorer, Anthony Zullo (18 points), also played the point guard role, assisting teammates Darren Minsky (four points) and Dennis Frame (six points). Outstanding defense at the end by Joshua Samet and Shaun McKenna held off a late charge by the Knicks. The Knicks foursome of Michael Straussberg, Matthew Ehrlich, Josh Pernick and Aaron Geffen (17 points) gave the Nets all they could handle.
PJ Falci & Daughters Sixers 26, DePhillips Sports Lakers 23. In the game of the weekend, the Lakers gave the Sixers all they could handle before losing a tough one in the closing seconds. Balanced scoring by Lakers Mike Mendez, Max Arm, Greg Gottfried and Connor Leavens could not offset the Sixers, who were once again led by Justin Braswell (17 points). Jonathan Rosoff also chipped in with six points. In the end it was tough defense by Teddy Lampropoulos, Dylan Laube and Anthony Agnello that pushed the Sixers to victory.
