By Marc Raimondi
That's why it's nice for Mackey to have a floor general he can depend on.Senior point guard Jael Pena got it done again in Christ the King's 64-51 win over Bishop Ford in a CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens Division I game Monday afternoon in Middle Village. After Ford cut the CK lead to 39-32 late in the third quarter, Pena hit a pair of three-pointers, stopping the Falcons' run.”It was big – gave us the momentum,” Pena said.She finished with 16 points and shut down Ford's Northeastern-bound guard Jamie Conroy (five points).”She's the leader,” Mackey said of Pena. “It's her team. It's very hard to win if you don't have that leadership.”Pena has done her part in taking the two freshmen, Bria Smith (14 points) and Nia Oden (13 points), under her wing. She's yelled and screamed when necessary, but mostly she just tells them to be aggressive.”She's like a coach on the court,” said Smith, who along with Oden are the first freshmen to play varsity at Christ the King since Clare Droesch in 1998. “She gives advice, so when it's needed, it's done with force.”CK had balanced scoring against Ford. Geleisa George had 12 points and Tahira Johnson added eight. Arielle Martinez led the way for the Falcons with 19 points and Dawn Garcia chipped in 12.For Pena, this is a new experience. In the past three years, she's played alongside the likes of current Division I players Tina Charles, Lorin Dixon and Sky Lindsay. Now it's up to her to help mold the Royals' newest budding stars. Smith is touted as one of the best freshmen in the country.”By the end of the season, she's gonna be fulfilling all that hype,” Pena said. “She's fulfilling it right now.”Reach Associate Sports Editor Marc Raimondi by e-mail at mraimondi@timesledger.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 130.
