By Joseph Staszewski
ALBANY — Francis Lewis’ youth was never an issue during its playoff run. But Patriots Coach Steve Tsai saw inexperience finally be a factor in the team’s season-ending loss.
“Some people say we’re young. If anything, maybe today you see a little bit of youth,” the coach said. “We panicked a little bit.”
Francis Lewis was its own worst enemy, if you ask Chi La Bady. The Patriots played hard and executed on defense, but never got shots to consistently drop, especially at the free throw line.
“I thought we were in a flow,” Bady said of the team’s offense. “I thought we played actually really well. If we would have made our free throws, it would have been a whole lot different.”
Instead, the Patriots suffered a 53-42 loss to Long Island Lutheran in the state Federation Class AA girls’ basketball semifinals at the Times Union Center in Albany last Friday night. Lewis shot 22.9 percent from the field and 17 of 31 from the free throw line.
The misses from the charity stripe kept it from ever building serious offensive momentum in what was most of the players’ first trip to the tournament.
“It’s all new to us,” sophomore guard Sierra Green said. “We were just trying to get comfortable and our shots weren’t falling. It’s just one of those games.”
The Patriots did get back into the contest in the second half after trailing 27-18 early in the third quarter. They pulled within 31-29 with 1:56 to go in the frame. A jumper by Dominique Williams, who scored eight points, and a top-of-the-key trey by Green got Lewis to within 36-34 early in the fourth quarter.
With 5:46 to go in the game, the Patriots came within three with a score of 40-37 after a Bady trey, but in the minutes afterward they weren’t able to close in again. Bady led Lewis with 11 points and Green had nine points and five rebounds. Chelsea Robinson added eight points and seven boards.
“We cut down the lead and were right in the game,” Tsai said.
The Patriots (24-4) proceeded to go scoreless over the next 3:22 and watched LuHi (22-2) extend its lead to 46-37 with two free throws by Cambria Heights native and Michigan-bound junior Lauren “Boogie” Brozoski, who scored 14 points. Katie Lavelle added another 14 for the Crusaders.
Brozoski believed her team’s experience playing in the Federation tournament during the last two years paid off when the game against Francis Lewis got close. LuHi, which won the Class A crown last year, was able to dig deep and hold on.
“Experience is a big thing,” Brozoski said. “If you don’t have experience, you are not winning ugly games.”
While this game wasn’t Lewis’ best, the Patriots’ season was the greatest in program history.
Lewis ended Murry Bergtraum’s 15-year reign as PSAL champions and beat top-seeded South Shore for the school’s first title since 1979. The state semifinal loss to LuHi leaves this young group hungry to get back to the tournament next year as only one Patriot player center Robinson is graduating in 2014.
“It’s a great experience,” Bady said. “At least we made it this far. We can possibly come this far again.”
