Christ the King wins women’s championship

Their January 17 win over Archbishop Molloy demonstrated that “CK is still here,” Tahira Johnson explained, after a streak-breaking season in which the Lady Royals finally lost the Brooklyn/Queens championship.
Now, Christ the King has confirmed that proposition by winning the 2009 Brooklyn-Queens regular season crown.
With a 73-54 victory over Mary Louis on February 7, the Royals clinch their 27th division title - and a No. 1 seed in the CHSAA ‘AA’ state playoffs - with a 9-0 record. Mary Louis’ mark of 7-2, meanwhile, is blemished only by two big losses to the team from Middle Village.
On Saturday, the squads’ relative progress was not exactly comparable. CK outscored Mary Louis in every single quarter and was particularly dominant on the boards, with Johnson’s 16 rebounds assuming a starring role.
“They killed us on the boards,” said Mary Louis interim head coach Kevin White. “There must have been four offensive possessions [where] we got the shot we wanted to take and [Johnson] just came out of nowhere.”
“[Johnson] was incredible on the boards,” said Christ The King head coach Bob Mackey. “She’s got shin splints and she didn’t let it stop her.”
Johnson, a senior forward, and sophomore guard Bria Smith each scored 22 points in the Royals’ rout, while Mary Louis senior forward Amanda Burakoski was largely stifled. Suffering from both tonsillitis and a tight CK defense, the Hilltoppers’ star scored 14 points and hit only one field goal in the second half. Her teammate Karin Robinson led the losing squad with 18 points.
White pointed to a 6-0 Christ The King run late in the second quarter as the turning point, calling it a “huge momentum change.” The Hilltoppers were down by two, controlling the ball with a chance to trim the deficit to two points, when a Smith steal helped the Royals build themselves a 44-34 lead at halftime.
“That’s how you want to end the half,” Mackey said.
His team put on a clinic of smart play from that point forward, getting close to the basket on every shot, drawing fouls from eager Hilltoppers on both sides of the court, and avoiding giving players like Burakoski open looks.
“We try to do the little things,” Johnson said. “We try to get in the passing lane. We try to get the rebounds. We try to take the charges. We try to go for loose balls.”
The Royals seemed fully undistracted on Saturday despite a few developments that might have stolen some focus from a less resolute crew. For one, representatives from New York City rivals Murry Bergtraum and St. Michael’s were spotted in the bleachers checking out their future competition, prompting Mackey to announce to his players in the locker room, “Our fan club is here.”
Then there was White, the Mary Louis head coach, donning a light blue sweater vest that looked awfully similar to the darker one always worn by Christ the King’s Mackey. The fashion move was intended to rankle the opposing coach, but it also had the potential of riling up a few history-knowing St. John’s fans in the audience. In 1985, in a men’s basketball contest since known as “the Sweater Game,” Georgetown head coach John Thompson lampooned his sweater-wearing counterpart Lou Carnesecca by donning a similar T-shirt that poked fun at Carnesecca’s attire. Georgetown won the game even though St. John’s was slightly favored.
There was no such luck for Mary Louis on Saturday. To be fair, most would agree that Christ the King has never looked stronger this season.
“This is the best we’re playing right now,” Johnson said. “We’re still going after that state title.”
With the playoffs looming, Mackey expects the Royals to get even better.
“I think our best basketball is in front of us, but I thought they played really well and I thought they played really hard,” he said. “That’s what you want this time of year.”