Banneker’s Alexcia Barnes dropped in 19 points. (Damion Reid)
Francess Henry came into Midwood’s game with Banneker trying to shed a few things.
The junior wanted to continue to dispel the notion that she is just a shooter and shake the bad taste of a poor performance in a one-point win over the Warriors on Feb.8. Henry was aggressive attacking the rim, many times pump faking and driving, but it was a 3-pointer from the right side in the fourth quarter that was her biggest bucket of the game.
“I was so open I had time to set up and take my time and release knowing that it was going to go in,” Henry said.
The trey sparked an 11-0, fourth-quarter run that finally allowed No. 6 Midwood to pull away from No. 11 Banneker. It turned what was a back and forth game into a 60-48 win for the host Hornets in a PSAL Class AA girls basketball second-round game Thursday. They advance to play No. 3 John F. Kennedy at 11 a.m. Saturday in the quarterfinals at York College.
“I think when Franny hit the 3, that is what set everyone off,” senior forward Beranda Felder said. “Everyone else started getting pumped. We started making layups, finishing inside, rebounds, we started hitting our free throws. Everything started coming together.”
Henry finished with 20 points and Brittney McFadden added 14. Felder had eight points and 16 rebounds and Jewel Tunstull added seven points and 10 boards for Midwood (15-11). Alexcia Barnes led Banneker (11-8) with 19 points and Kaylah Gholson and Vanessa Short each had 10.
Gholson chased after the Midwood scoreboard operator when the game conclude, resulting in chaos during the team’s handshakes.
“It’s a tough loss,” Banneker coach Moreno Fernandez said. “They are seniors. Emotions ran high and unfortunately it came down to this. I wish it didn’t.”
His team led by as many as eight in the second quarter, one it would not relinquish until early in the third thanks to the turnovers it created on defense and the play of Gholson and Barnes in transition. Midwood, though, settled in after halftime. Henry, McFadden and Giselle Peguero each made key outside shots. Tunstull and Felder dominated the boards and helped the Hornets begin to break Banneker’s press.
“We started knocking down free throws, layups,” Henry said. “We became more aggressive. We saw Banneker was taking it personal. Seeing that they were upset fired us up.”
Her third 3-pointer of the game gave Midwood a 49-44 lead with 2:40 left in the contest. Felder scored in transition and then powered inside for two. McFadden knocked down two free throws to cap the decisive run and give the Hornets a 57-44 lead with 30.1 seconds left in the game.
“If you take away the inside, chances are you may not be able to get all of the outside,” Midwood coach Artie LaGreca said. “It was a matter of time before Franny started dropping them. She dropped them at the right time.”
The Hornets will be making their ninth straight appearance in the quarters when they take the court against Kennedy. The Knights already own a win over them this season, a 53-48 loss at the Bergtraum Holiday Classic on Dec 30.
“It’s a streak that we are going to try to keep alive and we just want to go even further,” Henry said. “We are not going to try to stop at the quarterfinals.”