By Anthony Parelli
In a game littered with future Division I girls basketball players, it was Christ the King’s Kristen Drogsler, a role player heading to Division II Caldwell College, who provided the spark to lead her team to victory.
Drogsler had 18 points during Christ the King’s 89-76 road victory over rival Nazareth in a battle of CHSAA Brooklyn/Queen’s top girls’ basketball teams last Friday. The senior added five assists and drew an impressive four charges.
“I love to take charges. It’s my favorite part of the game,” Drogsler said. “To step in and you get the foul on the other player? It’s a great thing, and you end up with the ball so you just have to sacrifice your body and that’s what I did.”
Drogsler’s propensity to give her body up for the team sparked the rest of the Royals to follow suit. Stars Sierra Calhoun and Kollyns Scarbrough also drew charges in the victory.
“It’s definitely contagious to leave it all out there,” said Calhoun, a Duke-bound senior who paced all scorers with 28 points while adding eight rebounds and five assists. “With our defense we definitely set the tone and with the charges it was a big momentum swing for us. We were all getting on the floor and diving and going hard, so that definitely set the tone for us.”
The difference in the game was a 15-2 run by Christ the King (2-0) to end the first quarter. Drogsler had seven of her 18 points during the run and that 13-point differential held up and ended up as the final distance between the two teams. South Carolina-bound guard Bianca Cuevas scored 26 points for Nazareth in its season opener.
“The first shot I took I didn’t even think about it,” Drogsler said. “It went in and I was just feeling it offensively, so whenever I got an open shot I took it.”
Scarbrough made her presence felt as well as she contributed 18 points and 15 rebounds to the effort. Christ the King’s depth and ability to sub without losing momentum was the difference in the win.
“I think we have a lot of depth,” Royals Coach Bob Mackey said. “I went with the kids that got hot, Kristen got hot. Normally she’s in a rotation but she got hot, she stays in.”
Mackey also added that Calhoun has been able to focus on the game more in her senior year than she has in the past due to the pressure of scouts and college options.
With a clear mind Calhoun only has one focus.
“We have a great team this year,” Calhoun said. “We have a lot of senior leadership and were all just looking to win a federation championship.”
Beating Nazareth is the first step.
