By Dylan Butler
All Francesca Romano ever wanted was a chance — a chance to be a part of a team competing for a championship.
That chance finally became a reality for Romano Sunday at Elmcor as the senior guard netted a game-high 22 points, including 13 of her team’s first 15 points, to lead the John Adams girls’ basketball team to a 42-28 win over seventh-seeded Art and Design in the PSAL ‘B’ quarterfinals.
The second-seeded Spartans advance to the semifinals at St. John’s University Sunday at 10 a.m. to face No. 3 Banneker, 67-66 winners over sixth-seeded Beacon.
But three years ago, the 17-year-old from South Ozone Park thought that chance had eluded her.
After playing junior varsity basketball her freshman year at St. Francis Prep, Romano lost the love for the game. She knew she had talent, but she thought she was overlooked. Dawn Gorynski was the scorer, the star in the wings, while she was considered a talented defender, a role player.
Romano also struggled in the classroom and opted to transfer from St. Francis Prep following her sophomore year, a year she didn’t play basketball.
Soon after enrolling at John Adams High School, Romano began to shoot around in her backyard and decided she wanted to play again. But because of the transfer from St. Francis Prep she was forced to miss her entire junior year.
Instead she watched from the stands as the Spartans lost to South Shore in the PSAL ‘B’ final at Madison Square Garden.
“I’m excited, I can’t wait,” Romano said of Sunday’s semifinal game at St. John’s. “I’ve waited for this moment for three years. I have to show my stuff because I haven’t really gotten any college letters. I want my ride too.”
While most colleges haven’t noticed her yet, her opponents know how good she is. The Bulldogs knew Romano leads the Spartans in scoring, averaging 16 points per game. Art and Design head coach George Zicopoulos tried to take away her ability to drive by throwing a multitude of zone defenses at her.
Her response was three first quarter three-pointers en route to a 13-point first quarter as John Adams (22-4) opened up a commanding 15-3 lead. The Spartans extended its lead to 25-8 at the half.
“She’s a smart, heady player who does all the little things that make herself and her teammates better,” said Adams head coach Harold Krieger. “She can shoot, pass, play defense and rebound. The only thing she needs to work on is her foul shooting.”
From the line was about the only place Romano struggled Sunday, shooting 3-of-9 from the charity stripe.
But her struggles were nothing compared to those of Art and Design (22-5), which scored just one field goal in the first half.
It didn’t help that the Bulldogs’ leading scorer, Ciara Shields, who averages 17.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, was held to just 10 points. One of Shields’ biggest assets is her ability at 5-foot-9 to bring the ball up the floor, acting as a point forward.
But the Spartans took that away from Shields, double-teaming her when Art and Design brought the ball up court.
“That’s what the game plan was, to make other players beat us,” Krieger said. “And the others were reluctant.”
After a very difficult first half, Art and Design went on a modest 8-0 run, equaling its first half scoring total in the opening 2:14, cutting its deficit to 25-16 on Celina Rosario’s 16-foot corner jumper.
But Romano went end-to-end for a layup that ended Art and Design’s run. Tamisha Glenn added a 14-foot jumper, Romano drained a pair of free throws and Nicola Moore (10 points) scored on a putback to cap the scoring in the third quarter as Adams led 33-16 heading into the fourth quarter.
“The girls felt they could have gone further, they believe they could have won this game,” Zicopoulos said. “We’re still maturing as a team though. In the long run, this will be good for the team.”
Reach Associate Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 143.
