In the PSAL Class A playoffs, John Bowne and Martin Van Buren, seeded sixth and seventh, respectively, moved on to the quarterfinals. The Wildcats beat No. 11 Irving, 57-39, behind sophomore guard Shakema Johnson’s triple double - 20 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists - and 13 points by Jennifer Rios. Bowne meets No. 3 Medgar Evers at Hunter College on Sunday.
The Vee Bees, meanwhile, topped No. 10 Robeson, 74-64. Senior Kamesha Lambright led the charge with 28 points and 22 rebounds and Justinna Boatwright added 23 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds. Van Buren gets the No. 2 seed, Food & Finance, in the quarters.
Enjoying their eighth consecutive year in the quarterfinals, which includes a finals appearance in 2004, Coach Michael McClain is not sure how far his team can go. Outside of senior forward Aimee Aikens, they have little playoff experience. Lambright saw postseason action at Flushing two years ago, but no other Vee Bees have, at least not on the court.
McClain’s players have lacked that killer instinct. Against Robeson, they held a commanding 19-point lead after three quarters but nearly coughed it up in the fourth. There were errors in decision-making, McClain said, when to pass and shoot, when to pull the ball out or attack.
“I see signs of greatness at times and then I see inexperience,” he said. “They are unpredictable. I will know more with the next game, if we win the next game. It will be interesting.”
American Studies, the top seed in the PSAL Class B playoffs, had trouble with No. 16 Queens HS of Teaching, but earned a 48-40 victory nevertheless on the strength of 18 points and 8 rebounds by Crystal James and 13 by Raquel Gutierrez. Tess McRae scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the loss. The Eagles take on eighth-seeded Environmental Studies next. No. 5 Springfield Gardens bested 12th-seeded Goldstein, 52-43, as Brigette Knight scored 18 points, setting up a quarterfinal showdown with No. 4 Seward Park.
