March 6, 2012

Shabazz guard Aliyyah Handford (left) soars past Chaniyah Swan for two of her 24 points. (Photo: Jason Bernstein)

Lincoln at Shabazz Girls Basketball Photo Gallery

NEWARK – Tom Best wasn’t overcome with the feeling of sadness coming off the court, customary of this time of the year. His Lincoln team had just seen its season come an end, but for the 14-year head coach and his team, it served as a time of reflection – and celebration, for what had been one of the most successful years in the program’s history.

“I just want to tell them how I’m so proud of them,” said Best minutes after Lincoln’s 72-32 loss to Shabazz in the North 2, Group II title game. “We got some celebrating to do. We didn’t get a chance to celebrate.”

Best and his Lions (25-4) have plenty to celebrate and look fondly upon. They have been on an emotional two-week run which saw Lincoln win five playoff games, often in heart-stopping fashion and take home a Hudson County championship. The whirlwind stretch ended with a chance to face a team ranked No. 1 in the state, as well No. 18 in the country by USA Today.

“We just ran into a better team,” Best said. “Shabazz is a really good team. It’s no crime losing to the No. 1 team in the state.”

The home Bulldogs (28-1), quickly affirmed why they held in such high regard. Shabazz and standout guard Aliyyah Handford immediately put up five points within the game’s first 63 seconds.

The lightning-quick hands and feet of Handford combined with the outside shooting of fellow senior Ricshar Benjamin allowed Shabazz to take a quick 23-8 lead after one quarter and never looked back on its way to a fifth-straight section title.

“They’re defensive pressure gave us a lot of problems,” Best said. “We couldn’t run any of our sets and they get in transition so well that if you turn the ball over you have no chance to defend it.”

“I knew (Lincoln) would be very confident,” Shabazz head coach Vanessa Watson said. “They were a good team. I watched them play the other day and they were very aggressive. I knew if they got a bit of confidence it would be a bit tougher. There are some pretty good players on that team. I wanted us to come out and just make a statement early and we were able to do that.”

Up 38-15 at the half, the Bulldogs opened the second-half with 13 unanswered points, capped off by a Naqaiyyah Teague 3-pointer.

“Now they know how much work you’ve got to put in to be one of the top teams,” said Best. “We were successful, but we want to get on a level like Shabazz, so we have to put a lot of work in.”

Handford, was a nightmare on both sides of the court and at time a one-woman fast break as she scored a game-high 24 points, while also adding nine assists, nine steals and five rebounds. Benjamin hit a trio of 3-pointers as she added 17 points. Teague and Zaire O’Neil chipped in with nine and eight points respectively in the win..

Lincoln was led by Breana Bey, who scored 14 points in defeat. Even in the losing effort, Best hopes that his standout junior caught the eye of the multiple college coaches in the gym with her performance against the state’s best.

“I think (Breana) showed everybody that she can play big-time high school basketball,” Best said. They got trees over there and she kept fighting and fighting. Hopefully some college coaches saw her.”

Freshman Kiante Johnson added seven points and eight rebounds. Point guard Timiah Calamito, the lone senior in the Lions’ starting lineup, finished with seven points and three steals.

“I think my girls played hard until the end,” Best said. “I’m really proud of them.

“It’s going to hurt for a minute, but we’re going to reflect on a great season we had.”

Lincoln's senior point guard Timiah Calamito had seven points and three steals. (Photo: Jason Bernstein)

Lincoln at Shabazz Girls Basketball Photo Gallery