Team Lightning Melious Gold 17U squad’s first game of the afternoon against the Spanish club did not start off the way it wanted.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The Gold team fell into a first quarter 16-8 hole before slowly chipping away at the opposition’s lead until outlasting the Spanish ladies, 55-54, in the end in a wild tilt in the Second Annual International Showcase at St. Thersea on Staten Island.
With 0.5 seconds left on the clock and the Lightning clinging to a three-point advantage, one of the Spanish team’s players picked up a foul behind the three-point line to give the squad new life. She proceeded to sink the first two free throws but missed the third to hand the Lightning the nail-biting victory.
Team Lightning head coach Dan Melious chalked up the initial lackluster play to a two-week layoff due to school finals and other basketball commitments. In addition to the time a few new players needed to gel into the fold, and the return of an injured player.
But the Lightning was able to ultimately surmount all of those obstacles.
“I think the two-week break was a factor,” Melious said. “I think there was a little rust. Plus, we had to incorporate some new kids like Kyley (Gary-Grayson) and Sarah (Loughry), and Emily Salafia came back from injury. She scored the first five points for us, so I think she did really well for us. Kyley, Claire (Fitzpatrick), Stella (Ziogas) did what they had to do in the second half.”
Gary-Grayson, a West Orange High School (N.J.) rising senior guard, led the Lighting’s offensive attack with 23 points. She added seven rebounds and four steals in the win.
“We started to play more defense, and we just turned on,” Gary-Grayson said of what helped spur the comeback. “We started to play more like a team, too.”
Ziogas (New Rochelle High School) drained 12 points with nine assists, five boards and four thefts, while Claire Fitzpatrick (St. Mary’s High School/N.Y.) dropped in 11 points with 13 boards, four helpers and three blocks.
With only one true big on the team at the showcase, Fitzpatrick, a 6-foot rising senior combo guard, said she took it all in stride, and is playing up to her capabilities now.
“My whole life I played up,” Fitzpatrick explained. “I was always a guard, but at the same time, my dad always taught me post moves and everything. And I know coming on to this team we lost our big (Iva Corluka) going to Croatia. So, I had to step up in that position, and I think I’m filling in that position better now.”
A returning player from last season, Ziogas enjoyed a productive tilt. She attributed the triumph to the quick formation of a team bond despite somewhat of a new-look squad this year.
“I love it,” Ziogas, a rising junior said of the victory. “Everyone has been so supportive. And it such a great group of girls. This is kind of a new team this year, but we’ve already gotten so close. We’re still learning how to play together, but we all stuck together, and that is helping us.”
In the second game, Team Melious Lighting Blue lost to Hudson Breeze, 57-52.
Salafia, a 2027 from St. Joseph by-the-Sea High School (Staten Island), led all scorers with 25 points. She also contributed four assists and five steals. Maria Rubiero, a rising sophomore, added nine points, 11 boards, three helpers and three steals.
Clarie Schnecker paced Hudson Breeze with 17 points, 13 rebounds and two assists.
In the third contest of the day, Team Lightning Gold tarnished Premier, 65-39.
Emma Sollene poured in18 points and grabbed 6 boards, while Ziogas followed with 15 points, 11 helpers and four steals. Gary-Grayson contributed 14 points, seven rebounds and five thefts.
— Jerry Del Priore
Comments are closed.