C.J. Bernieri was on her back, writhing in pain near midcourt. Blood poured from her nose as she grabbed her hurting left leg. Tears came from her eyes.
A collision with Poly Prep forward Cherkira Lashley had the Staten Island Academy point guard looking like she just fought in the UFC rather than played just under a half of basketball. Tigers coach Rose Dunn was worried.
“I got nervous for a few seconds, because she usually doesn’t cry,” Dunn said. “She’s not a crier.”
Somehow, though, Bernieri limped back onto the court after the break. Her presence was inspirational and practical – the pint-sized guard had six big free throws to seal No. 4 Staten Island Academy’s 59-54 win over No. 1 Poly Prep in the NYSAISAA Class C girls basketball semifinals Friday night in Bay Ridge.
“I didn’t want it to be my last game,” Bernieri said. “I felt like I owed my seniors a lot.”
SIA (20-6) led just 35-34 at the break and trailed 41-38 after a 3-point play by Poly Prep senior center Lily Donahue with 6:00 left. But Bernieri’s presence was a motivational factor and the Tigers would not be denied. Donahue’s free throw would be the last point the Blue Devils (22-2) scored until the 6:45 mark of the fourth. Staten Island Academy’s man-to-man defense was suffocating – not bad for a team that typically plays zone.
“We’ve been working on man,” Dunn said. “I didn’t think we were gonna be prepared enough and I was wrong. I guess coaches can be wrong sometimes.”
She wasn’t wrong about Bernieri though. After the initial nerves, Dunn remembered just who Bernieri was.
“I knew she was going back in,” the coach said. “As soon as she could move her leg, I’m like alright. She’s had swollen elbows; she’s played through them. She’s had cuts; she’s played through it. I’ve taped her on the court and not subbed her out. It’s like child abuse. She’s a real, real tough kid.”
Staten Island Academy has been equally tough. The Tigers have banded together after a debilitating illness to star senior forward Casey Bray and the death of senior center Mayana LeGrande’s father. They never thought they were truly a No. 4 seed in this tournament and showed it by beating No. 1.
“We just proved to everyone in the [Ivy League] and the rest of the NYSAIS tournament that we can beat anybody,” Bray said.
She finished with 20 points, Bethany Claps had 15 points and LeGrande added 10. Bernieri had just six points, but all of them came from the free throw line in the fourth quarter and she didn’t miss a single one.
“They were an amazing six points,” Dunn said. “They were the biggest six points I’ve ever seen in my entire life. That was frickin’ awesome.”
Katie Friel had 14 points, Lashley had 13 points and Jacquie Kennedy added nine for Poly, which missed the front end of three one-and-ones in the fourth quarter. Blue Devils coach Mike Junsch said he warned his team about free throws before the playoffs.
“I said, ‘Girls, this state championship is gonna be decided at the foul line — we’re gonna win or lose at the foul line,'” he recalled.
Bernieri, ironically, drew the fifth foul on Lashley with 47 seconds left and put SIA ahead 58-49. It was a different collision than the one that occurred just 36 seconds before halftime.
“We both dived for the ball,” Bernieri said describing, the car-crash like incident. “I don’t know how my leg got up by her shoulder, but my leg just snapped by her shoulder. … My left nostril was gushing. My other one was dripping. I had no idea what was going on.”
She was more than lucid when the buzzer sounded and the Tigers celebrated like mad. Staten Island Academy earned a spot in the NYSAISAA Class C final 11 a.m. Sunday at Fieldston. The Tigers wanted to meet ACIS rival and No. 6 Dwight, but they fell to No. 2 Hackley in the other semi. They will be the underdog again – at least in terms of seeding.
“The whole year we’ve faced adversity and we just keep overcoming it,” Bray said. “I think that’s what gives us a big boost, because we just want to prove everyone wrong.”