MSIT’s Kelin Walsh poured in 33 points against Kennedy. (William Thomas)
Kaitlyn Astel knows what the perception of her team is around the city. McKee/Staten Island Tech, she says, is rarely put in the same category as the PSAL’s elite teams.
“You always see in articles online one of those teams saying we’re preparing to play JFK, Murry Bergtraum or South Shore [in the playoffs],” the Seagulls star said. “We were left out. I actually thought that helped us.”
No longer can MSIT be absent from that list.
No. 4 McKee/Staten Island Tech beat fifth-seeded John F. Kennedy, 64-51, in the PSAL Class AA girls basketball quarterfinals Saturday afternoon at Hunter College to advance to the program’s first semifinals. On Saturday, the Seagulls will meet top-seeded South Shore in the final four 2 p.m. at St. John’s University.
“I think now that we’re in the final four, we’ve proven that we could play with them,” junior Kelin Walsh said.
Astel and Walsh did that by putting MSIT (21-2) on their back. Walsh had 33 points, getting into the lane against Kennedy (17-10) at will. Astel had 29 points on an array of pullup jumpers and swoops to the basket. The two combined for all but two of the Seagulls’ 64 points. Brenna DeRosa had a basket in the first quarter then it was Astel and Walsh who took over.
“They’re just the floor generals,” said MSIT coach Peter LaMarca, who celebrated his 42nd birthday Saturday. “I don’t know if the rest of the city coaches understand that. … I thought we were good enough to compete with anyone and that’s partly because of Kaitlyn and Kelin.”
Walsh had 15 points in the second quarter alone, outscoring Kennedy (13) to give MSIT a 30-21 lead at the break. The Seagulls led by as much as 41-27 on an Astel 3-pointer with 2:22 left in the third quarter.
The Knights would make a run, though. Joya McFarland knocked down a 3-pointer and Robin Daley had a putback to pull Kennedy within 46-43 with 5:42 remaining. That was as close as The Bronx team got. Walsh and Astel continuously attacked the basket and the Knights had no answer.
“The game plan was simple,” Kennedy coach O’Neil Glenn said. “Pick them up and stay in front of them. Clearly we didn’t do that.”
McFarland had 19 points, Leshauna Phinazee had 11 points and Daley added nine for Kennedy, which had made the semifinals the last seven years. The Knights were just 9-of-23 from the line for the game, while the Seagulls shot 21-of-27.
“We were not afraid,” Astel said. “I don’t think one person on this team was nervous.”
The 5-foot-9 shooting guard is still unsigned and looking at a few Division II schools. Walsh, only a junior, is also still looking for interest from colleges. LaMarca, who guided FDR to the semifinals in 1998, said that PSAL girls from Staten Island don’t get enough exposure. He wanted his team to be part of the ‘AA’ super league during the regular season, but no teams from the Island were made part of it.
None of that matters now. McKee/Staten Island Tech has gotten further than it ever has, representing itself and its borough well. And the Seagulls don’t plan on stopping now.
“The goal is Madison Square Garden,” Astel said. “This is the first stop.”