Nicole Francomano finally took charge of what was turning into a wild contest.
“When I got the ball I tried to slow it down and let everyone relax a little bit,” the St. John Villa point guard said.
The senior, along with three other starters, was benched for the first five minutes after their team’s five-game winning streak was snapped by Bishop Kearney the day before. Coach Liz Blanchard felt they were in a rush on offense and spent too much time playing defense.
“It was a wakeup call for most of us,” junior forward Jackie Diaz said.
The effect didn’t show right away as the Bears played a similar style in a first half ridden by fouls, a detriment to offensive fluidity, only to get things going after the break. Francomano scored all 20 of her points in the second half of an eventual 58-52 win over Leon Goldstein at the Rose Classic Super Jam at Bishop Ford Sunday.
She was able to get others involved, while avoiding the foul bug late that plagued so many others, in the type of performance expected from the three-year starter.
“I told her that’s part of your job, to slow it down and take control,” Villa coach Liz Blanchard said. “I felt like when we played this team in halfcourt we could beat them in halfcourt.”
The Bears (6-7) led just 23-21 after a first half that included 26 total fouls and 27 combined free throws. Francomano scored eight straight points, including two 3-pointers during a 10-0. Danielle Iacampo capped it with a putback to give Villa a 33-32 lead. Diaz tallied 10 points to pick up the slack for Brittany Sullivan, who fouled out midway through the fourth. Samantha Long had eight points and Iacampo and Dorothy O’Neill each added eight.
The advantage was short-lived as Goldstein’s Christina McKeever, who tallied 22 points, began carving up the Villa defense The Dolphins (7-2) went on to score seven straight points and a McKeever 3-point play gave her team a 37-36 lead with 29 seconds left in the third.
“We stopped sliding into help because we were so afraid of getting fouls,” Blanchard said. “We were very hesitant.”
The Dolphins, who were coming off and emotional loss to PSAL Class A favorite Wings, saw star Brittany McDonough foul out with 1:20 left in the third and Goldstein, which shot just 19-of-32 from the foul line, down 36-34. The senior guard picked up her fourth two minutes prior, but coach Adrain Buchhalter chose to stick with her, citing the need for scoring and her usual ability to manage fouls. Danielle Bonsignore added nine points and Danielle Natoli eight.
“We didn’t hit the threes,” Buchhalter said. “Yesterday was a war [against Wings]. They were tired.”
Francomano helped the Bears regain control, burying a 3-pointer from the top of the key and feeding Diaz for a layup to open the fourth on a 9-2 run. Villa led 53-41 on a Samantha Long layup with 3:12 to go. Goldstein made a final push and pulled within 56-52 on a Jessica Greenwood 3-pointer with 24.7 second left, but Francomano made two free throws to seal it.
The Bears see the win as a big one as far as momentum is concerned. They didn’t want to take a two-game losing streak back in to CHSAA Staten Island play, starting with Notre Dame Academy, which they beat once already.
“This was a big win for us because we had a lot of momentum,” Francomano said. “Notre Dame is really looking to beat us so we really needed to pick it up.