Sports

Phina-shing touches: Junior forward leads Kennedy past JFK in overtime

If John F. Kennedy learned one thing in its loss to Murry Bergtraum this week, it was that having Leshauna Phinazee on the court playing well is vital to the Knights’ success. The junior forward, the team’s best rebounder, was saddled with foul trouble throughout against the 12-time defending PSAL city champions.

“Without her, period, [we’re not as good] – it showed on Wednesday,” Kennedy senior point guard Shaquaya Daniels said.

Phinazee wasn’t a factor through four quarters Saturday. But when she started playing her best, good things began happening for Kennedy in a 53-47 overtime win over John F. Kennedy (Paterson, N.J.) in University High School’s Festival of the Phoenix girls basketball event at South Orange (N.J.) Middle School.

Phinazee had eight of her 13 points in overtime and eight of Kennedy’s 13 overtime points. She gave the Knights (6-4) the lead, 44-42, with 2:38 left in the extra period and scored on a putback to give them a four-point advantage.

When that was salted away, Phinazee grabbed a loose ball off the hands of Daniels and took it in strong for a layup to make it 49-47 Kennedy and she ripped a rebound of the hands of Alisha Brown on the next possession and layed it up calmly to put the Knights up 51-47 and all but seal the game.

“I was passing a lot,” Phinazee said. “My coach (O’Neil Glenn) was telling me just start taking everything to the basket. When I first started scoring the first couple of baskets I was hyped.”

JFK Paterson (1-1) led for much of the way in what Knights players admitted was a down performance after going toe to toe with nationally ranked Bergtraum on Wednesday. But despite being down 33-28 at the end of the third, Kennedy led for a good portion of the fourth.

A Daniels runner put the Knights ahead 39-38 with 1:38 left, a lead they held until there was 1.3 seconds remaining. Glenn’s squad missed numerous opportunities to run the clock down and ice it. And when junior guard Deaisia Acklin missed the second of two free throws, JFK Paterson had the opening it needed.

The ball found its way into star sophomore guard Erika Brown’s hands and she pushed it coast-to-coast for the tying layup.

“That was a heartbreaker,” Phinazee said. “That’s not like us. That’s not what we usually do.”

Added Glenn: “They have one girl who could beat us. One kid who could beat us. They had one kid who was clearly the top player. [Brown] was the best player on the court.”

A light seemed to go on in overtime. Junior guard Joya McFarland gave Kennedy the lead right away with a driving layup and Phinazee did the rest.

Acklin finished with 11 points, McFarland had eight, Daniels had seven and Robin Daley finished with six along with some strong work down low against Alisha Brown and Kylla Champagne. Brown led JFK Paterson with 21.

“We played lackadaisical once again,” Daniels said. “I don’t think everybody was on the same page. It was good that we got a win, but we gotta step it up.”

The Knights, who were without Chelsea Custodio (stomach virus), will be back in action against another tough foe, St. Anthony’s, arguably the best team on Long Island, at the Francis Lewis HoopsQueens Winter Ball 2010 at 5:30 p.m. It’s been a grueling week for Kennedy, which also played bitter rival Manhattan Center on Monday.

“You got colleges here,” Glenn said. “That’s why I do it. It’s on them now. It’s up for them to play at a level for a coach to notice them and give them a scholarship.”

mraimondi@nypost.com