By Joseph Staszewski
GLENS FALLS, N.Y. — Ariel Edwards was asked a simple question heading into the fourth quarter by Christ the King Coach Bob Mackey: Can you take her?
“He said it in a way to get me annoyed,” Edwards said. “That’s what coaches do. I guess I just listened to what he was implying.”
Then she did exactly what she was told against Sachem East center Caitlin Hopkins.
Edwards, who had quietly gone about her business during the game, asserted herself in the fourth quarter. She sealed off Hopkins in the post, scored inside and beat her off the glass on both ends. The Penn State-bound forward scored nine of her team-high 23 points in the fourth quarter and grabbed 15 rebounds as Christ the King beat Sachem East 63-57 in the New York State Federation Class AA final at the Glens Falls Civic Center Sunday.
“I noticed her breathing a little bit harder,” Edwards said. “She started the game off really fresh and she was doing well. Then I realized I can take her. I’m quicker than her. I’m stronger then her.”
She started the fourth quarter with a putback to get her team even and was hit by Smith for an easy layup that put CK ahead for good with three minutes gone by. Edwards, who was playing with four fouls, than completed a three-point play with 2:29 remaining in the game off a pass from Nia Oden that brought a loud cheer from the CK fan and put the Royals up 51-44.
“She said that she had her so we knew we could trust her,” Smith said. “She was amazing.”
Added Mackey: “Ariel wasn’t tired. She still had some life.”
Edwards has been that way all season, the finest of her career. The forward, who transferred from Elmont after her freshman season, was named to the WBCA All-American team. She admittedly matured both as a player and person.
She shed the image of not being tough, especially after getting hit hard in the head in a win over St. Michael Academy in the CHSAA state title game. Edwards emerged as the Royals’ best defender and an inside-outside scoring threat. Now she can also call herself a state champion and a member of the first program to have both its boys and girls team take home Federation crowns as she prepares to head to Happy Valley.
“I feel like it was a complete 180 for the whole program and myself,” Edwards said. “Last year I was kind of the player that nobody knew about. I was seen as a good player, but I wasn’t getting the accolades that I’m getting now.”
She again proved they are well-deserved.
