By Marc Raimondi
The foul call never came and the shot fell harmlessly short of the rim. Francis Lewis took a 43-41 loss to Midwood Monday afternoon in Fresh Meadows.”I thought they were going to call a foul,” DeLeon said. “Thinking back, I should've turned the other way.”There was contact on the shot by Midwood's Yale-bound senior Michelle Cashen, but perhaps not enough to call a foul in the waning seconds. That might have been the last chance for Francis Lewis (10-3 PSAL Queens AA), but it wasn't the best. The Patriots led 35-31 going into the fourth quarter and 39-37 after a Tatiana Wilson basket with 5:15 left.But they got sloppy with the ball – three straight turnovers and forced shots led to no points until DeLeon (15 points) scored with 23.2 seconds left. Midwood (10-2 PSAL Brooklyn AA Group 2) forced a turnover and got two straight stops after that to hold onto the victory.”We missed a lot of layups,” said Davis, the Patriots' senior point guard. “With this game, every possession counts. We just gotta work on finishing.”The Hornets, who were led by Victoria Story's 20 points, switched from zone to man-to-man in the beginning of the fourth quarter. Coach Artie LaGreca said that Lewis' ability to penetrate his team's zone was “killing” Midwood.”Man-to-man definitely helped them,” DeLeon said.LaGreca and Francis Lewis coach Mike Eisenberg are close friends and LaGreca is the godfather of Eisenberg's infant daughter, Abigail. So, it was no surprise the game was as evenly matched as it was.”Artie and I talk just about everyday, if not more than once,” Eisenberg said.Eisenberg's final play wasn't exactly a secret, either Ð both teams run it and as Eisenberg said, “[the Hornets] know it's going to be either Andree or Sylvia” taking the last shot, anyway. Afterward, there were no hard feelings. Both teams ate pizza together in the bleachers.But Davis was hardly satisfied with the outcome.”A good learning experience, but a bad loss,” Davis said. “Clearly, we're better than this team.”Reach Associate Sports Editor Marc Raimondi by e-mail at mraimondi@timesledger.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 130.
