Familiar foe awaits Francis Lewis

If it’s March and Francis Lewis is feeling good about themselves, that must mean top-seeded Murry Bergtraum, the nine-time defending PSAL Class AA city champions ranked second in the nation by USA Today, are waiting.
Five times in six years the two teams met in the city final at Madison Square Garden, all won by the Lady Blazers. Last year, it was the quarterfinals, as is the case Saturday evening whey they collide at York College.
“I think our players believe it’s possible,” Coach Mike Eisenberg said. “If we play our A-plus game, which would mean we’re making them play their C-minus game, we would have a chance to win the game.”
Whatever happens against Bergtraum, this has been another successful season for Francis Lewis. With no prospective Division I players, integrating six newcomers, and still lacking any frontcourt presence whatsoever, the eighth-seeded Patriots won Queens for the eighth consecutive season, beat Brooklyn power Jefferson, the No. 3 seed in the postseason, the final week of the regular season, and obliterated No. 9 James Madison, 67-42, to open the playoffs behind 21 points and 14 assists by Sylvia Davis and 11 by Margaret Elenis.
“My individual goal every year is to make my players better and have my team playing better at the end of the season than they did from the beginning of the season,” Eisenberg said. “To see my kids improve the way they have, I’ve done that.”