St. Peter’s Catherine Lewis is out with a broken wrist. (Damion Reid)
It’s President’s Week and that can only mean one thing: a week off from classes for most schools.
Some girls basketball teams are using this time for a much-needed break. Others are getting fine-tuned for the playoffs. Christ the King, for instance, is in the midst of a brutal stretch. Mary Louis has three games. St. Michael Academy heads down to the Washington, D.C. are to play some top competition.
How will this week affect the stretch run? Only time will tell.
Here’s how the rankings look:
1. Murry Bergtraum (21-0) (Last week: 1)
Doris Ortega just could not get that elusive 1,000th career point Saturday. Try as she might, the senior guard was stuck on 999 for nearly five minutes in the fourth quarter of a win against Central Dauphin (Pa.) despite constant attempts to get her the ball in a spot to score. Ortega did eventually make two free throws with 1:29 left. She scored 23 points in the game and if she continues at this rate, Bergtraum has to be the New York State Federation Class AA title favorite.
Next: TBA
2. Christ the King (18-5) (2)
The Royals get their last regular-season chance to knock of a nationally ranked foe and continue to make a case to be included amoung them. Coach Bob Mackey’s club heads to play Archbishop Carroll (Pa.) Monday afternoon to end a difficult three-game stretch that included a win over Trenton Catholic Sunday.
Next: @ Archbishop Carroll (Pa.) (Feb, 15, 1:30 p.m.)
3. St. Peter’s (18-1) (3)
The Eagles picked up one of their best wins of the season by topping Cherokee (N.J.) in the Garden State on Sunday. What made it more impressive was they did it without Catherine Lewis, who is out with a broken wrist and hopes to return for the postseason. St. Peter’s also wrapped up its 15th straight CHSAA Staten Island title by beating Moore.
Next: Bloomfield Tech (N.J.) (Feb, 15, 12 p.m. @ Holy Spirit, N.J.)
4. St. Michael Academy (16-4) (4)
The Eagles will know where they are heading into the postseason after a swing through our nation’s capital this weekend. Will they put their troubles well behind them? Newly named McDonald’s All-American Jennifer O’Neill and Co. will start their preparation with a tough contest against national power Riverdale-Baptist.
Next: TBA (Feb. 19, TBA @ Riverdale-Baptist, Md.)
5. Bishop Ford (19-4) (5)
Does Bishop Ford still have a girls basketball team? The Falcons have not been seen in a live game since they beat Bishop Kearney the first week of February. Coach Mike Toro has a scrimmage set up with Midwood this week and the team prepares for the CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens playoffs.
Next: No. 5 Mary Louis/No. 9 Bishop Kearney winner (Feb. 25, 4:30 p.m. @ Bishop Ford)
6. John F. Kennedy (17-7) (7)
Coach O’Neil Glenn got the No. 2 seed he thought his team deserved two years ago. Better late than never, apparently. At the beginning of the season, saying Kennedy was a favorite to get to the Garden would have gotten you a ticket to the funny farm. But Glenn has done his best coaching job yet with these Knights.
Next: No. 8 Archbishop Molloy (Feb. 20, 3 p.m.)
7. Mary Louis (13-6) (8)
Senior Day was a success for TMLA. The team’s eight soon-to-be graduates got a win in their final home game and coach Joe Lewinger’s two 4-year-old twins got to see their dad leave happy. Jack and Maddy took in their first live game since being diagnosed with cancer two years ago.
Next: @ Long Island Lutheran (Feb. 16, TBD)
8. Archbishop Molloy (9-13) (10)
The old saying is it’s not how you start, but how you finish. At least Molloy hopes that is the case. After an up and down season the Stanners are playing their best basketball right now. They hope to make a push for the CHSAA and state Federation Class A title when March comes around.
Next: St. Rose (N.J) (Feb. 15, 1:00 p.m.)
9. Francis Lewis (18-4) (6)
The Patriots took care of business against Midwood on Friday, facing adversity head on in the fourth quarter and not letting the Hornets complete their comeback. That wasn’t so Sunday against Molloy, which came back from a big first-half hole to beat Lewis. Coach Steve Tsai’s team is going to find its fourth seed in the PSAL Class AA playoffs hard to swallow, but it must forge ahead regardless of the perceived slight.
Next: TBA
10. Moore Catholic (17-5) (9)
Saturday, Mavericks tried to pull off their second wild fourth quarter rally of the season, but rival St. Peter’s had other ideas. Taylor Baggs, though, showed who she is one of the city’s most consistent players who can take over a game with her heart, hustle and skill at any moment.
Next: No. 10 Cardinal Spellman (Feb. 20, 12 p.m.)
New: None
Dropped out: None
On the bubble: South Shore (16-7), McKee/Staten Island Tech (23-2), St. Francis Prep (11-8), Bishop Kearney (12-9), Midwood (14-11), Manhattan Center (14-10), Cardinal Spellman (16-3) and Thomas Jefferson (12-7)