Lewis’ Kelly Robinson suffered a knee injury in the third quarter. (Damion Reid)
Jasmine Davis is known for her intangibles.
“She does the little things that no one sees,” Francis Lewis guard Tatiana Wilson said.
They were clear as day with point guard Kelly Robinson out of the game with an injured knee and the Patriots trying to hold off a ferocious Western comeback. Davis beat a suffocating press with two perfect, deep inbounds passes, made 3-of-4 free throws down the stretch and got key rebounds.
“Jasmine is tough,” said Iona-bound center Sabrina Jeridore, who scored five points and had 11 rebounds. “We needed those little rebounds and jump balls she got.”
Davis scored eight points and grabbed seven boards and Wilson had nine points as Francis Lewis held on for a 41-36 win over Western (Md.) in the Big Apple Recruiting Christmas Classic at Bishop Ford Tuesday. They did so without the UMass-bound Robinson, who missed nearly the entire second half when she injured her left knee after landing hard on a layup early in the third quarter.
“We say that Kelly is the engine of our team and is a big heart of our team, but I think hopefully with this win we will see that we are not just a one-man show,” Francis Lewis coach Steve Tsai said.
Robinson (seven points) had the Patriots, who played tremendous defense, rolling early. They led 23-12 at the half and she started to take over to start the third. She had a hand in Lewis’ first four points, including a no-look pass to Wilson for a layup. Robinson then created a steal and was hurt getting blocked by Western’s Brielle Ward with 6:42 left in the third.
“After that I knew we had to play hard because we didn’t have our point guard,” said Davis, a sophomore.
While Lewis (9-0) recovered from the loss of Robinson, Western (3-4) revved up its defense, Ward (eight points) started to get to the basket and 6-foot-6 center Infiniti Alston (nine points) battled with Jeridore in the post. It pulled within 34-32 with 1:29 left in the game.
On the next play, Davis, a St. Michael Academy transfer, hit a streaking Ayana Duncanson for a layup and with 34 seconds left she threw a baseball pass down court to Wilson, who hit one of two free throws to give Francis Lewis a 39-34 lead, which it was able to hold onto.
“It was a setup,” Wilson said. “I told her just to throw it and she made the long pass.”
Davis did everything Tsai asked of her, including guarding Ward. Her ability to make the little plays that make a big difference was something Wilson said they lacked last season. The coach made sure his team didn’t do without it against Western.
“I don’t even know if I took Jasmine out,” Tsai said. “I needed her every second of the game. She was just incredible.”