As of just three days ago, Jasmine Davis was not going to be in the Francis Lewis lineup for a key league game against Lincoln. The star guard has been nursing a knee injury since a loss to Mary Louis three weeks ago. She was unable to walk under her own power last week, missing the Patriots’ game against St. John’s College (D.C.) at the Bergtraum Holiday Classic.
Davis refused to let that deter her, though.
She went to the doctor on Tuesday and was told it was just a sprained muscle and cartilage in her left knee. The doctor said playing wasn’t a great idea, but with constant ice and stretching she wasn’t at risk of injuring herself further.
“He didn’t want me [play], but I did,” Davis said with a smile.
The junior was fine against Beach Channel on Wednesday and Friday she had one of her best offensive performances of the season to lead Francis Lewis to a 45-24 win over Lincoln in a PSAL Queens/Brooklyn AA crossover girls basketball game in Fresh Meadows. Davis finished with 16 points and was typically active on defense and the boards.
“Jasmine is one of the toughest people I know – period,” Patriots coach Steve Tsai said. “Forget about kids or adults or whatever. I call her a tough cookie.”
Davis said she felt some discomfort, but no real pain against Lincoln (6-4, 3-3 Brooklyn AA Group 1), which was coming off big wins against Truman and Medgar Evers. But she didn’t expect to shoot as well as she did, either. Ten of her 12 points in the first half came on a pair of 3-pointers and two other long-range shots just inside the arc.
“I thought it would be different,” Davis said. “I thought my shot wasn’t going to be on at all. I thought I’d have to pass a lot more.”
Added Tsai: “If she wanted to, she can do that all the time. And it’s not even about just hitting shots, it’s about how efficient she is. She doesn’t shoot a low percentage. I’m always on her about being more aggressive. She just enjoys setting people up.”
Lewis (8-4, 7-1 Queens AA) used a 6-0 run, capped by a Tyese Purvis (10 points) basket, to take a 21-9 with 2:05 left in the first half and never looked back. Lincoln missed 18 free throws for the game, but couldn’t do much offensively against the Patriots’ physical, man-to-man defense.
Davis said she didn’t rush back because she thought Lewis would lose to Lincoln. It just killed her not to be there for a loss last Thursday to nationally ranked St. John’s College, a game in which the Patriots only trailed by seven points at halftime. Her mother, Celia, said she had to crawl on her hands and knees up the stairs at home, because she couldn’t put pressure on the knee.
“I knew if I wasn’t going to play, they would have won either way,” Davis said.
Tsai liked the effort, but thought Lewis could have shown a little more killer instinct on offense.
“They’re doing what they’re supposed to, but we could be more dominating, a little more aggressive,” he said. “As we go forward, we’re going to have to be.”
But with Davis back, they’re much better off.
“I missed her already,” Tsai said with a laugh. “I missed her so much.”