Bria Smith was in a familiar place Saturday night – and not a good one. The Christ the King superstar senior fouled out in the fourth quarter and had to watch in agony as the Royals’ season almost ended against St. John the Baptist in the CHSAA Class AA state semifinals.
The last time she was stuck on the bench during a big game was two weeks ago against archrival Nazareth in a CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens Division I first-place tiebreaker. Coach Bob Mackey sat her out to rest her balky knees much to Smith’s chagrin.
The McDonald’s All-American took a seat on the bench that day between assistant coaches Jill Cook and Dom Cecala, a pair of sharp basketball minds, and began taking mental notes, ones that she had a feeling she would need in the future.
“I wanted to play them again,” Smith said. “That was the game I wanted.”
It’s the game she’s going to get Sunday in the championship game 4 p.m. at Holy Trinity in Hicksville, L.I. Nazareth beat Christ the King that day, but the teams are 1-1 when Smith plays.
She clearly makes a world of difference for the Royals, who ended up beating St. John the Baptist. Nazareth took care of its end of the bargain barely, miraculously coming back from two points down with under 10 seconds to play to win in regulation. It was almost like the stars aligned.
“Destiny, definitely,” Naz coach Apache Paschall said after watching CK freshman Sierra Calhoun hit two 3-pointers with less than 90 seconds remaining to beat St. John the Baptist. “We pulled it out. They pulled it out. And tomorrow we gotta go to war. It’s that simple.”
Royals coach Bob Mackey didn’t give his rival the same satisfaction. It didn’t matter to him who he played. The Christ the King players did not watch the amazing finish to the Nazareth game, so had no real thoughts of fate lending a hand.
“I’d love to give you a storyline, but whoever wins today plays tomorrow,” Mackey said. “If it was Moore Catholic, if it was St. Peter’s. How many times have Bob Daggett and I done this dance? This is survival. Three games in three days. Whoever survives it, wins.”
These were supposed to be the last two teams left, though. St. Anthony’s and St. John the Baptist played phenomenal games. Both of them should have won. There should have been on all-Long Island final.
But Nazareth and Christ the King were the best two teams in the state all year. Both teams have been nationally ranked and Naz still is. They went to war twice at full strength and each has won one, one the other’s home floor.
This game will be at Holy Trinity, the same place St. Michael Academy beat Christ the King in the CHSAA state quarterfinals two years ago. Last year, CK got revenge, beating St. Mike’s in the final.
Sunday is the rubber match – for this year and the last three. Survive and win, indeed.
“Everyone wants to see that game,” Lady Kingsmen senior Taylor Ford said. “Everyone has been waiting for that game. I guess God wanted us to play them, so we’re gonna do that.”