By Joseph Staszewski
YORK, Pa. — For the most part, it was a good performance by the NYC Heat, but there were a few key moments Coach Kevin White would like back.
“I liked the way they played except for two 1 1/2-minute sequences,” he said.
In the end, it was too much to overcome.
The Heat watched a close contest become a double-digit halftime deficit and they couldn’t finish off a rally in the closing minutes of an eventual 56-46 loss to the Germantown (Md.) Lady Panthers in the Round of 16 in the Platinum Bracket at the Blue Chip USA Invitational in York, Pa. Friday night.
The Heat beat the New Jersey Crusaders Black last Thursday and Renegades Friday morning. They faced the loser of the NJ Cardinals and Hudson Valley Elite Saturday at 10:40 a.m. in the consolation bracket.
“Their size started taking advantage of us a little bit at the end,” White said of Germantown. “We made a couple of mistakes that hurt us.”
Mary Louis rising sophomore guard Mei-Lyn Bautista led the Heat with 17 points, including three three-pointers, and St. Joseph Hill forward Kelsey Carey, a rising senior, tallied 14 points. Wing Tasia Butler, the No. 18-ranked prospect in the Class of 2013 by HoopGurlz, scored nine of her 12 points in the second half for the Panthers and Merlena Tremba added 16, including four treys.
“I thought Kelsey Carey outplayed her,” White said of Butler.
He expects to have Mary Louis rising sophomore Jordan Augustus arrive at York for the final three games Saturday.
The Heat rallied behind Bautista in the second half as she carved up the Panthers’ defense with precise passing and buried a three-pointer from the top of the key to tie the score at 38 with 8:00 left to play. After a 6-0 Panthers run, the Heat got as close as 46-42 on a nifty up-and-under move by Carey and hoop from Kadijah Dickson, a Mary Louis rising sophomore.
“Even when we were down a few points we played hard and came back,” Bautista said. “That was a plus.”
