Girls Basketball

January 15, 2010

Friars take second round with HFA

Shonice Hawkins St. Anthony

Shonice Hawkins had 23 points as St. Anthony avenged an earlier defeat to Holy Family.

Click Here for photos from Holy Family at St. Anthony.

By Jason Bernstein
Editorial Director

JERSEY CITY – After the first month of the season, the resume for the St. Anthony girls basketball team was nearly flawless. The one exception – an early season loss to division rival Holy Family.

Yesterday, the Friars took a major step toward erasing that one blemish on their record as they defeated the Falcons 64-53 at the CERC.

“It was a huge motivation,” St. Anthony guard Shonice Hawkins said in reference to her team’s 54-53 loss to Holy Family in the Mother Seton Tournament. “It was a wakeup call.”

Hawkins ensured that there wouldn’t be a repeat of the Dec. 30 meeting as she took control of the game in the third quarter. Hawkins, who admitted she struggled with the Falcons’ box-and-one defense in the opening half, scored 10 points in the third quarter. The St. Mary of Rutherford transfer drained a pair of 3-pointers during a 16-3 run at the end of the quarter. The run, which she said was her best all season, helped break the game open.

“I would say she can take over a game,” St. Anthony head coach Tony Jackson said. “She can take over a game, is very coachable. We have a good relationship. She’ll get up and text me and say ‘hey coach, we’ve got a game today,’ and I’ll go ‘I know are you ready to play?’ and she’ll say she’s ready to play. She’s a great kid, there’s not much more you can say. She’s a really good leader.”

Hawkins was hardly alone in the Friars’ second-half revival. Senior Adrianna Allen (16 points) and Wa’ Keema Sawyer (12 points) scored four points apiece during the game-changing run

Hawkins finished with 23 points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals in the win and set the tone from the start.

“She’s difficult to defend,” Falcons coach Pat Longo said. “She’s quick, she’s very athletic and she had a great game today.”

As scintillating as her on-court performance was, Hawkins’ biggest impact comes from the energy and leadership she has provided in her short tenure at St. Anthony (7-1).

The additions of Hawkins and Jackson (also in his first year with the Friars) have completely changed the culture for a program which has missed the state playoffs two years in a row after winning the Non-Public, North B crown in 2007 and experienced plenty of turmoil a season ago.

“We build off her energy and her confidence,” said Allen, the one remaining player from the 2007 team. “When she comes and she’s like ‘let’s go,’ we’re like ‘alright, we’re behind you.’

“We’ve been going at this since last year when our coach quit. We’ve just come a long way. I’m really proud that I stuck through with this team.”

The Friars were up by 13 points midway through the second quarter, but Holy Family (9-1) wouldn’t go down quietly. The front-court duo of Diane Forker and Christina Gill helped cut the deficit down to just six points midway through the third and were a matchup problem for St. Anthony most of the game.

“Their two bigs are really tough, especially Gill, I love her game,” Jackson said. “She can do so much stuff. For a big person she can put it on the floor. She finishes, she’s a smart thinker and how to run to the spot.”

Forker would finish with 26 points and 16 rebounds. Gill, who also took on the ball-handling responsibilities of a point guard at times, had 10 rebounds, five points and three assists.

Despite the efforts of Gill and Forker, St. Anthony evened the score between these two non-public foes. They will meet a third time on Feb. 11 in Bayonne.

Diane Forker Holy Family

Diane Forker had 26 points and 16 rebounds for Holy Family in defeat.

  1 2 3 4 Total
Holy Family Falcons (9-1)
8
13
13
19
53
St. Anthony Friars (7-1)
9
20
24
8
61
Holy Family   St. Anthony
  2s 3s 1s Pts
Kaydee Murphy
1
0
0
2
Samantha Sysak
3
0
2
8
Diane Forker
9
0
8
26
Bridgett Brummer
4
0
0
8
Christina Gill
1
0
3
5
Dominique Gallo
0
0
0
0
Samantha Lavelle
2
0
0
4
Payton Micewicz
0
0
0
0
Total
20
0
13
53
 
 
  2s 3s 1s Pts
Shonice Hawkins
6
2
5
23
Adrianna Allen
8
0
0
16
Cassnadra Halton
1
0
0
2
Wa' Keema Sawyer
5
0
2
12
Nadirah Durr
3
0
0
6
Na' Quell Simmons
2
0
1
5
Noelle Stelt
0
0
0
0
Yakira Castel
0
0
0
0
Megan Hart
0
0
0
0
Total
25
2
8
64
     
Holy Family: Forker 16 rebounds; Gill 10 rebounds; Lavelle 4 rebounds; Sysak 4 steals. St. Anthony: Hawkins 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals; Simmons 8 rebounds, 4 steals; Halton 6 rebounds; Sawyer 5 assists, 5 steals; Allen 4 rebounds, 4 steals.