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QC01092014

76 The QUEE NS Courier • january 9, 2014 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com sports TIGERS ROAR  CORUIER SPORTS STAR TIGERS TROUNCE VEEBEES BY MAGIE HAYES mhayes@queenscourier.com The Queens High School of Teaching (QHST) and Martin Van Buren High School boys’ varsity basketball teams entered the game with the same record, but Van Buren left with an upset. “Both teams really have no idea what to expect,” said Everton Edwards, head coach for Van Buren (4-4), before the game on Monday, January 6. “They’ve worked very hard and it’s just got to do with believing in yourself.” The QHST Tigers (5-3) were a little apprehensive heading into the game without one of their best players, forward Sonny Okorie, but head coach Michael Shelton still expected “a good game.” “This gives other guys a chance to step up,” he said. QHST kicked off the first quarter with a 7-0 run. A series of quick turnovers on both ends of the court ended with Van Buren’s guard Darron Williams getting fouled, and putting his team on the board with two points. But the Tigers smooth passes and ability to control the ball and execute shots soared over the Van Buren VeeBees and they ended the half up by 10 points, 27-17. The second half started up with several stand-out plays from QHST forward Michael O’Leary and The Queens High School of Teaching Tigers routed the Martin Van Buren VeeBees by 40 points. guard Brandon Anderson. Both teams continued to be aggressive on steals, amounting to as much as four steals in under a minute. Despite doubling the VeeBees score, Shelton appeared displeased at the referees’ foul calls, but the Tigers continued to score regardless. Just before the quarter ended, QHST guard Keshaun Ellis made a behind-the-back assist and brought the score to 47-23. Several times throughout the game, Van Buren passed the ball directly into the hands of the QHST players. But before the fourth quarter, Edwards took Williams aside to talk strategy for the final minutes. THE COURIER/Photo by Maggie Hayes Despite the pep talk and a big block from VeeBees guard Dayvon Lloyd on O’Leary, the Tigers came out victorious and ended the game 69-29. This is the Tigers’ first season in the AA division and as of press time they placed third overall in the borough, behind High School for Construction and Benjamin N. Cardozo High School. “I think we’re doing better than others expect,” Shelton said. He added the majority of his varsity team is underclassmen so he is “excited” for the years to come, building on what they have. “Our future looks bright,” he said. A CULTURE OF WINNING BY LIAM LA GUERE lguerre@queenscourier.com Within the last three seasons, the Townsend Harris High School girls’ basketball team has developed a culture of winning. The Hawks have won 38 consecutive regular season PSAL league games in the Queens A West division. Standing in front of a cheering home crowd on January 6 with broad smiles on their faces, the team unveiled a banner which will hang in the school’s gym to celebrate its back to back undefeated 2012 and 2013 regular seasons. But the banner ceremony may have been slightly premature, since the Hawks (PSAL 7-0) are on route to an unprecedented third undefeated regular season. And before revealing the banner, they routed division rivals Benjamin Cardozo Lady Judges with a 49-33 win, for victory number 39. “We are just trying to maintain that,” junior guard Debra Chan said. “Yeah it feels good to be undefeated.” Chan scored 13 points and added four steals against the Lady Judges, and teammate senior Sierra Berkel had a game-high 18 points and 12 rebounds to win the game. It hasn’t been all winning with the Hawks. They did lose in the quarter finals of the PSAL Division A city playoffs last year, but their regular season record is an accomplishment. Head coach Lauren Caiaccia attributes the team’s success to their hard work and training off the court. “We train a lot. We run a lot in practice,” Caiaccia said. “We are ready to After celebrating another victory, the Townsend Harris girls basketball team revealed a banner to commemorate their back to back undefeated seasons. go the entire 32 minutes. We kept the intensity up and we also have the experience of winning.” That intensity proved to be the difference maker in the game against the Lady Judges. Townsend Harris led by a substantial amount for most of the game. They controlled possession, dominated on defense and almost doubled Cardozo’s score by halftime, 24-13. But with about five minutes left to play in the fourth quarter, the Lady Judges knocked down two consecutive three-pointers and a layup for an 8-0 THE COURIER/Photo by Liam La Guerre run, closing the gap to 37-30. Then the Hawks returned to their earlier dominating form and finished the game strong with a 12-3 run, led by Berkel. The senior scored six consecutive points by herself. She started with a layup at the 3:44 mark. Then stole the ball on the ensuing play and scored another layup. Then, on the next possession, Sierra was fouled and nailed both free throws, to advance the lead to 45-30. “Towards the end of the game we knew what we had to do to get it done,” Berkel said. “We sort of made mistakes in the beginning, but we really wanted to win so we rallied.”


QC01092014
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