Charles In Charge

Tina leads Christ the King to 22nd straight Brooklyn-Queens title
BY ZACHARY BRAZILLER
In three years at Christ the King, Tina Charles has lost just twice, winning a state championship and three Catholic School city and state titles. This year, she’s been named a McDonald’s All American and the State Farm/Women’s Basketball College Association’s 2006 High School Player of the Year. Still, she doesn’t seem quite content.
After another brilliant performance in which the 6-foot-4 University of Connecticut-bound center had 29 points, 19 rebounds, five blocks, four assists and four steals, leading the top-seeded Royals past No.3 Archbishop Molloy, 72-38, for their 22nd consecutive CHSAA Class A Brooklyn-Queens championship Sunday evening, Charles still wasn’t happy. “After the game, her biggest worry was she missed three free throws,” Christ the King Coach Bob Mackey said. “I was like, okay Tina. … She’s stepping up her game for the stretch run.”
Leading by just 11-10 late in the opening quarter, the Royals unleashed a thunderous 22-3 run, paving the way for their 53rd straight win overall. Christ the King, who will face the Manhattan-Staten Island representative, St. Michael Academy, in the CHSAA Class AA state semifinals Saturday, forced five turnovers in the spurt, and scored their first five baskets on open lay-ups. Most eye-opening was Charles’ surprising contributions. She canned a pair of jumpers, and led the fast break. “We’re grateful to have her,” said Christ the King’s Sky Lindsay, who added 12 points. “She does a little bit of everything. She can do it all.”
Although another easy triumph in the city finals might seem monotonous or mundane to some, Charles enjoyed this one just as much as the others. “It’s special,” she insisted, “because this is the first title for this team.”
Losing by double figures for the fourth straight time in this CHSAA finals to Christ the King (26-0), Molloy, who needed a last-second lay-up from Angie Waterman in the semifinals to even make it here, never could get back into it, trailing 38-20 at halftime and 57-30 entering the final quarter. “The best thing about this game is it’s over,” quipped Molloy Coach Marty Towey.
Nevertheless, the Stanners will be the city’s Class A representative when they play in the state semifinals in Buffalo Saturday, and a season that began with questions, will continue with many answers. “They’re overachievers,” Towey said. “At the start of the year, I didn’t know we were going to break .500.” Janine Maser led the Stanners (18-9) with 10 points.