Girls Basketball

February 21, 2010

Friars, Hawkins hold on to top Marist

Shonice Hawkins St. Anthony

Shonice Hawkins scored nine points in the final 2:33 for St. Anthony.

Click Here for photos from St. Anthony at Marist Girls Basketball.

By Jason Bernstein
Editorial Director

BAYONNE – It was late in the fourth quarter and with her St. Anthony team clinging to a two-point lead, Shonice Hawkins knew it was time for her to dominate.

As he has so many times this season Hawkins did just that, scoring nine points in the game’s final 2:33 to lift the fifth-seeded Friars to a thrilling 66-61 road victory over fourth-seeded Marist in the quarterfinals of the Hudson County Tournament.

“Two of the starters fouled out so I knew I had to put it on my back,” Hawkins said. “We won and that’s all that matters.”

Every time Marist (15-8) cut into St. Anthony’s slim lead, the Iona-bound guard responded with her continual attacks towards the basket, taking advantage of the foul trouble on Marist’s end.

After Desiree Denmark’s basket cut the deficit to 57-55, Hawkins answered back with two of her own to bring it back up to six. Three consecutive points from the Royal Knights’ Ashley Vazquez was met with another drive to the hoop by Hawkins.

Denmark, who was matching Hawkins shot for shot most of the game, made it 63-60 after a layup with 43.8 seconds left. But when Marist had a chance to tie the game it was the Friars’ Wakeema Sawyer who delivered the fatal blow, stealing an inbounds pass and taking it all the way for a layup to put the game out of reach with just 34.1 seconds remaining.

“That game could have gone either way,” St. Anthony coach Tony Jackson said. “It was a battle of wills. I’m just proud of my girls. I’m just really proud of them. This could be a turning point for us now.”

“That’s what you ask for as a player,” Marist coach Damel Ling said about the intensity of the game. “I told the kids before the game I wish I could play. As a player, these are the environments you want to play.”

Hawkins added a free throw to ice the game late. She scored 12 points in the final quarter and nine of her team’s last 11 points, finishing with 27 points for the night.

“Coach said keep playing and the game will come to me,” said Hawkins, who felt she struggled for most of the first three quarters. “So instead of getting frustrated about missing those shots, I just made up for it on defense.”

Hawkins also had six rebounds, four steals and three assists.

It proved to be just enough to outlast Marist and Denmark who finished with 27 points, eight rebounds, six steals and four assists. Fourteen of those points came in a second half which featured 10 lead changes between the two non-public foes.

“She’s a great player,” Hawkins said about Denmark. “It’s my fourth time playing against her and we always go at it. No matter what it is – if we’re up or if we’re down – we just go head to head.”

St. Anthony would take the lead for good on a put-back from Nadirah Durr that made it 51-50 with 5:22 remaining in the game.

Durr, a junior, was one of two Friars to have double-doubles in the contest as she finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman Brianna Bey had 12 point and 12 rebounds off the bench in just her third game back after suffering a broken ankle before the start of the season.

Antoinette Blake cleaned up on the glass for the Royals Knights, pulling down 20 rebounds to go with 16 points and six steals. Vazquez added 11 of her 13 points in the second half.

With the victory, St. Anthony advances to Tuesday’s semifinals at St .Peter’s College. There they will square off with top-seeded Bayonne.

Desiree Denmark Marist

Senior Desiree Denmark had 27 points, eight rebounds and six steals for Marist.

  1 2 3 4 Total
St. Anthony Friars (18-3)
11
18
15
22
66
Marist Royal Knights (15-8)
15
12
15
19
61
St. Anthony   Marist
  2s 3s 1s Pts
Adrianna Allen
1
0
3
5
Shonice Hawkins
6
2
9
27
Nadirah Durr
5
0
2
12
Cassandra Houghton
0
0
0
0
Naquell Simmons
1
0
0
2
Noelle Staudt
0
0
0
0
Wakeemah Sawyer
3
0
2
8
Breana Bey
5
0
2
12
Total
21
2
18
66
 
  2s 3s 1s Pts
Ashley Vazquez
4
0
5
13
Desiree Denmark
11
0
5
27
Antoinette Blake
5
0
6
16
Alexis Wilson
1
0
1
3
Angela Randle
0
0
0
0
Ebony Wood
1
0
0
2
Destiny Brewer
0
0
0
0
Devina Simon
0
0
0
0
Total
22
0
17
61
     
Marist: Blake 20 rebounds, 6 steals; Denmark 8 rebounds, 6 steals, 4 assists. St. Anthony: Bey 12 rebounds; Durr 11 rebounds; Allen 7 rebounds; Hawkins 6 rebounds, 4 steals; Simmons 6 rebounds.