Wake-up call

Zierra Williams Michelle Goncalves

Lincoln's Zierra Williams (left) blocks a shot attempt from Michelle Goncalves (right).

Click Here for photos from Lincoln at Kearny.

By Jason Bernstein
Editorial Director

KEARNY – Just three minutes into the game, but Lincoln was already trailing by 11, had committed six turnovers and head coach Tom Best had already seen enough. Expressing his displeasure with the subtlety of an alarm clock, Best sent one starter to the bench 25 seconds into the game and had two more take a seat within the first three minutes.

The Lions would respond to the wake-up call in a big way, scoring the game’s next 20 points to defeat the Kardinals 47-37 yesterday.

“I think that was a serious wake-up call,” Best said. I think they understood that I wasn’t playing around. I think that was a serious wake-up call. I think they understood that I wasn’t playing around. We can’t beat teams giving the ball up that easily.”

Slow starts have been nothing new for Lincoln (9-6) this season, but this one was particularly jarring. The Kardinals’ Stefanie Gomes stole the opening possession and took it for an easy lay-up and Janitza Aquino unleashed nine straight points to create the early hole.

“I know we didn’t have a good warm-up and I could tell they weren’t ready to play,” Best said. “They’ve got to realize that they’ve got to play the first three minutes like the final part of the game. You can’t give the team 10, eight point leads. It was bad”

But no one could have expected a turnaround like this. Zierra Williams stopped the bleeding with a free throw at the 4:37 mark and with three reserves (Shaquanna Bates, Sharmane Rhodes and Chinya Swane) in the lineup, the Lions cut the deficit down to just one by the end of the first quarter.

“I didn’t know how they were react going to come in and play,” guard Andrea Crute said. “I was just telling them to stay calm, play defense, play hard and don’t give up.”

The trio of Nhire Adams, Timiah Calamito and Indigo Hatcher were rejuvenated when they returned for the start of the second quarter Adams scored five points within the first minute and her 3-pointer gave Lincoln a 13-11 lead they would never relinquish.

“I don’t know if we relaxed when that (11-0 lead) happened and we just thought we don’t have to work as hard,” Kearny coach Jody Hill said. “It was shocking as you watch the score go and go. It was heart-breaking because I thought we were ready.”
Williams and Crute would score six and five points respectively during the stunning 20-0 run. They held Kearny (6-9) scoreless for more than 10 minutes before Gomes’ basket ended the drought with just 2:22 left in the half.

Holding just a two-point lead into the half, Williams took over after the break for Lincoln. Already a matchup problem for the Kardinals due to her size and strength, the junior excelled in the post with 10 second-half points.

“I like to fake them one way and then have a drop-step lay-up,” said Williams, calling her post-play the strength of her game.

“She’s a tough player,” Hill said. “I feel like she posts up very well. She knows fundamentally how to post up. She gets very good position, she uses her body well and she maneuvers well to get rebounds.”

Williams would finish with 16 points, six of them coming in a 13-4 run in the second half that put the game out of reach. She capped off the five-minute stretch with a post move and basket to make it 40-26 with less than seven minutes left in the game.

“(Zierra’s) one of the best low-post girls in the county,” Best said. “That was our focus, get her the ball.”

Williams, who also had 13 rebounds for a double-double, was one of two Lions to achieve the feat as Crute added 10 points and 10 rebounds. Adams scored 10 points and Rhodes chipped in with nine rebounds and seven points.

Aquino was the lone Kardinal to score in double figures, finishing with 17 points. Gomes and Ashley Latushko added six points apiece in a defeat which put Kearny’s state playoff hopes in peril.

“It’s very disheartening,” Hill said. “But the only thing you can do is keep working and keep persevering because you can’t give up.”

Sharmane Rhodes Lincoln

Sharmane Rhodes had seven points and nine rebounds for Lincoln in the win.

	1	2	3	4	Total
Lincoln Lions (9-6)	10	10	15	12	47
Kearny Kardinals (6-9)	11	7	8	11	37

Lincoln

Kearny

	2s	3s	1s	Pts
Timiah Calamito	0	0	0	0
Indigo Hatcher	1	0	0	2
Andrea Crute	4	0	2	10
Nhire Adams	2	2	0	10
Zierra Williams	7	0	2	16
Shaquanna Bates	0	0	0	0
Chinya Swane	1	0	0	2
Sharmane Rhodes	1	0	5	7
Total	16	2	9	47

	2s	3s	1s	Pts
Janitza Aquino	5	1	4	17
Stefanie Gomes	3	0	0	6
Ashley Latushko	3	0	0	6
Angel Conde	0	0	0	0
Alicia Weber	1	0	2	4
Michelle Goncalves	0	0	0	0
Mercedes Lois	0	0	0	0
Vanessa DaSilva	2	0	0	4
Total	14	1	6	37

Kearny: Latushko 7 rebounds; Weber 5 rebounds, 5 assists. Lincoln: Williams 13 rebounds; Crute 10 rebounds, 4 assists; Rhodes 9 rebounds; Calamito 6 assists; Adams 5 rebounds; Hatcher 5 rebounds.