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Girls start full court press

By Simon Chen

The girls of the PSAL hardwood are turning their attention to the 2008 segment of the 2007-2008 schedule, as both the “A” and the “AA” divisions begin the full court press towards the post season. Last season, Brooklyn made an impressive showing by having fourth seeded Midwood go all the way to the semifinals where they were knocked off by the 11 time PSAL Girls’ Champions – Murry Bergtraum. But the borough’s teams are poised to make a run at the defending champs this season. “AA” Division Madison Knights (5-3)- Last season, Coach Richard Tighe’s Madison Knights won only six games during the entire season. This season, Tighe has his squad right in the thick of things with a 5-3 record at the halfway mark of the campaign. Leading the lady Knights has to be the freshman Sashana Bucknor. Bucknor nets a little more than 15 points a game, and has 121 total points, which is good enough for second in the division ranks behind South Shore’s Angel Porter. Just as impressive as Bucknor, is senior Samantha Stanfield, who led the squad in scoring in the 2006-2007 campaign, but this season, she has also made a valuable contribution by adding 104 points. While last season’s freshman star, now sophomore sensation Jamecia Forsythe is not too far, she has swished in the century mark, with 100 on the season. Midwood Hornets (4-2)- By far, they were last season’s Cinderella story of the “AA” Division, but this season, they aren’t surprising anyone. But Coach Artie La Greca has Midwood in the mix of returning to prominence this season, hopefully this time, a PSAL Championship. Leading the hive is junior guard Victoria Story. The “story” for Midwood’s backcourt star is that she has averaged 14 points in each of her six games thus far and has a total of 87 at this juncture. While Michelle Cashen is not too far behind as the senior is ranked sixth in divisional scoring, right behind Story, with 76 points. The duo of Cashen and Story will most likely be the key ingredients for a success drive to the playoffs. Lincoln Railsplitters (3-5)- Despite sitting in third place in the division, the lady Railsplitters have come a long way from their 0-3 start, when they dropped three consecutive contests to Francis Lewis, Jefferson, and Madison. But since then, they won three of their last five games. Leading this season’s edition of the ‘Splitters is senior Demi Quintana. The senior is averaging a little more than 19 points per contest while leading the team in that same category with 114 points and has added 50 rebounds and 19 assists. With another sizable contribution is Nefertiti Tilton. The senior had poured in 95 points, pulling down 46 rebounds, and has dealt out seven assists, thus far in her final season of her high school career. “A” Division Sheepshead Bay Sharks (4-3)- Despite only scoring on average 38 points a game, the Sheepshead Bay Sharks have managed to have a record of over .500, currently at 4-3. The season has been filled with ups and lows. The lady Sharks have been held to 19 points once when they lost 45-19 to Fort Hamilton on December 4 while two days later, on December 6, they held East New York to 19 points when they thumped them, 49-19. But leading the team through the ups and downs has been Alyssa Mason. Mason, playing her third year on the varsity circuit, has averaged 13.33 points per game while totaling 80 points in six games played thus far. She has also added 66 boards and eight helpers to her resume. Fort Hamilton Tigers (4-5)- The lady Tigers dropped three of their first four games to open the 2007-2008 season but have managed eek out three wins in the latter five games prior to the break. But have played pretty inconsistent ball throughout the season, as they have only had a winning of multiple games only once. Despite the team’s lack of consistency, the trio of guards- Rebab Mansour, Yajaira Arias, and Maycarolyn Oyangoren, have all combined for 244 points, 92 rebounds, and 91 assists on the season.