By Brandon Mauk
The Commodores were close to breaking through, but letting one game slip through their fingers ended their hopes for an undefeated league season.
Top-seeded Bayside’s run was stopped by a 60-44 loss to No. 2 Lehman in the PSAL Class A girls’ basketball championship game at St. Francis College Sunday.
“We give them credit, they played a great game,” said Bayside assistant coach and athletic director Joe Capuana said.
After trailing for much of the game, the Commodores made it a one-possession game early in the fourth quarter, but key mistakes prevented them from getting any closer before Lehman (22-1) used a run of its own to pull away for good.
“It sucks to lose the last game, but we really made history,” senior Theresa Lueng said. “It’s an honor to play for Bayside.”
Slumping out of the gate, Bayside trailed much of the game, falling behind 30-19 at halftime. The Commodores (23-1) couldn’t stop Lehman senior Paulina Afryie, who scored a game-high 21 points.
Sophomore Kendra Sanchez kept Bayside within distance by scoring 10 of her team-leading 16 points in the first half, but was lost to foul trouble for the rest of the way.
In her last high-school game, Lueng put out everything she had. She scored 10 of her 15 points in the second half as she tried to spark a Bayside rally.
“Theresa’s an amazing leader,” Capuana said. “Kendra, even though she’s only a sophomore, another great leader. We’re very, very proud of everything they do, on and off the court.”
Trailing 40-33 after three quarters, a pair of free throws by Sanchez and a steal and running jumper by Lueng cut Lehman’s lead to 42-39 with 6:22 remaining in the game. However, Bayside was unable to get the big shot it needed. Key turnovers and missed shots short-circuited the rally.
After the Lions used a 9-0 run to go back up by 12, Sanchez fouled out with 3:26 left in the game, and that was all the Commodores had left.
“Some of our shots weren’t falling, we just couldn’t box out and get a rebound,” Lueng said. “They got height. They played the best today.”
