Kennedy forward Sarah Vann will be key inside against Manhattan Center’s bigs. (Damion Reid)
PSAL girls basketball beat writer Marc Raimondi breaks down the Class AA semifinals set for Tuesday night at St. John’s University in Queens.
SCHEDULE
5 p.m. – No. 3 John F. Kennedy vs. No. 7 Manhattan Center
7 p.m. – No. 1 Murry Bergtraum vs. No. 4 South Shore
No. 3 John F. Kennedy Knights
Head coach: O’Neil Glenn
Record: 19-8
Player to watch: Sarah Vann
No. 7 Manhattan Center Lady Rams
Head coach: Jaywana Bradley
Record: 16-10
Player to watch: Aziza Patterson
Outlook: Manhattan Center’s goal, just like every team’s, is to win a city title. But the Lady Rams also wanted another thing very badly: to play bitter rival John F. Kennedy one more time. On Feb. 3, Kennedy won at Center, 52-50, in a game that is still sticking in the Lady Rams’ craw.
“You don’t understand how it feels to lose to somebody on your home court,” Lady Rams star guard Aziza Patterson said.
Kennedy does, though. The Knights lost to Manhattan Center in The Bronx, 48-41, back on Dec. 16. The two teams split their regular-season meetings last year, too, before Kennedy won a quarterfinals matchup.
Now, the blood feud will be played out at St. John’s University with a trip to the Garden at stake. Center was there just two years ago and Kennedy the year prior to that.
So, it’ll be two of the PSAL’s best programs with no love lost for each other meeting for a chance to play at The World’s Most Famous Arena. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Lately, Kennedy has been playing better basketball. Its defense, coach O’Neil Glenn’s hallmark, has tightened considerably – the Knights allowed just 33 points from Midwood in the quarters Saturday. JFK makes all the toughness plays, gets to a ton of loose balls and finds ways to win close games. Glenn, someone who is never satisfied, is happy with how his team is playing – and that’s really saying something.
Manhattan Center, on the other hand, has the most momentum. The Lady Rams will be coming off the biggest upset of the postseason so far after they beat No. 2 Francis Lewis in the quarters. They were outstanding defensively and the forward tandem of Nijah LaCourt, Brea Castro Gambrell and Janicha Diaz Carrion were incredible on both sides of the court. Patterson had just two points, but she’ll probably have to have more against Kennedy for Center to win.
No. 1 Murry Bergtraum Lady Blazers
Head coach: Ed Grezinsky
Record: 23-0
Player to watch: Shukurah Washington
No. 4 South Shore Vikings
Head coach: Anwar Gladden
Record: 18-8
Player to watch: Aliyah Cooley
Outlook: Both teams will be looking to make history this week. Bergtraum has a chance to win its 13th overall city title, breaking a tie with August Martin for the most ever. South Shore, an emerging PSAL powerhouse, will be looking to end the Lady Blazers’ streak of 11 in a row and make the Garden for the second straight year.
On paper, the Vikings look like they match up well with Bergtraum. They’re fast, athletic, long and have a superstar guard in Jasmine Odom. Sophomore center Fannisha Price has come on lately and freshman wing Aliyah Cooley is one of the city’s top 3-point threats if she gets going.
There aren’t too many holes, which is why coach Anwar Gladden was so upset when his seed was moved from No. 3 to No. 4, setting up a potential date with the Lady Blazers before the Garden.
“It’s us and them,” Gladden said. “No. 1 and No. 2.”
But South Shore, one of the youngest teams in ‘AA,’ didn’t play like the No. 2 team in the PSAL for stretches of the season. The Vikings’ youth led to some disappointing losses. That exuberance and energy could lead to a letdown Tuesday or a shocking upset, depending on the way South Shore comes to play.
Bergtraum has heard it all before, though. Every year there is a team that supposedly matches up well with the Lady Blazers and every year for the last 11, coach Ed Grezinsky’s team finds a way. They did just that in last year’s final against South Shore when DePaul-bound forward Shukurah Washington all but took over the game on her birthday.
She is sure to be the key again. Washington felt like she didn’t play well in a victory against No. 8 Thomas Jefferson in the quarters and the Orange Wave did hang around for a long time.
Will South Shore stay in it and do the improbable? Will Bergtraum pass the torch to what could be the next PSAL dynasty? Or will the Lady Blazers keep the status quo and call MSG home again?