Saturday was about more than basketball for Darius Faulk and her Nazareth teammates.
The West Virginia-bound guard, Ohio State commit Lisa Blair and Syracuse-bound Taylor Ford spent the morning at Brooklyn College graduating from the Brooklyn Catholic school. The three then had about an hour to hustle to JHS 113 for Exodus NYC’s Rose Classic quarterfinal against Harlem USA. After a quick stop for some pizza, they made it in time.
“It was nice,” Faulk said. “That’s what we like to do. We like to look like girls and then step on the court and play.”
Exodus NYC trailed by two at the half, but a strong finish allowed them to pull away for a 56-42 win. Bianca Cuevas scored 27 points and Faulk had 14. Exodus NYC, which faces Team Prince in the semifinals 12:30 p.m. Sunday, used a 10-2 run in the fourth to close out the game. The group saw mentor and coach Apache Paschall shockingly die of a heart attack in January and will try to go out winning the program’s ninth Rose Classic title.
“We were excited, but we were also sad that we will all be parting ways soon,” Faulk said. … “This is our last Rose. We want to keep the dynasty going.”
New Jersey Sparks 52, Positive Direction 31: Ashurae Durant led the New Jersey Sparks with 12 points and Morgan Tayer chipped in nine. Jasmine Nwajei scored 16 points for Positive Direction and Deja Taitt added six. The Sparks face the Lady Falcons 11:30 a.m. Sunday in the semifinals.
Team Prince 68, Team Blackout 37: Britney Sykes poured in 21 points and Kaitlynn Flaherty scored 19 points for Team Prince. Marina Mabrey added 17 points. Team Prince takes on defending champ Exodus NYC in the semifinals 12:30 p.m. Sunday.