By Patrick McCormack
It was quite a turnaround for Monsignor McClancy.
McClancy fell to Bishop Kearney by 15 points on the road in their first meeting. Things were different when the Tigers came to Queens.
Junior Taylor Aybar scored 30 points to lead McClancy over Kearney 60-38 in CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens Division II girls’ basketball last Friday. The victory put the Crusaders into a tie with Kearney for second place.
The key to the success the second time around was learning from mistakes made in the early season loss and having Aybar step up.
“I am very proud of my team today, we worked all week on this one game,” Crusaders coach Dewey Hopkins said.” “[Aybar] literally took us on her shoulders. We limited our turnovers, and got to the rim and finished. “
McClancy (11-10, 8-3) started to break the game open in the second quarter. The Crusaders opened up the frame with a 14-2 run, led by four points by Aybar and junior Kenia Garcia, to go ahead 25-14. The key to the rally was the team switching their defense to a zone.
“Last time we played them we didn’t go with this 3-2 zone,” Hopkins said. “This 3-2 zone is keeping everyone under 40 points.”
The Crusaders scored five straight points to end the half, including four from Kaitlyn Stenz to increase their lead to 32-18 at the break. Stenz credited Aybar for getting their teammates involved even on her big night.
“Seeing how Taylor led us, everyone stepped up and did their part,” Stenz said.
Out of the half, McClancy kept up the pressure behind Aybar to increase its lead to 36-18. Aybar credited her success to going out and doing her job.
“I was focused on what I had to do,” Aybar said.
Kearney (10-9, 8-3) was able to cut the Crusaders’ lead to 13, but McClancy behind Aybar was able to turn their defense into offense and secure the victory.
The Tigers jumped out to an early 12-11 lead at the end of the first quarter, behind Kailey O’Grady’s five points. O’Grady believed the team was sharper on defense in the first quarter and limiting McClancy’s easy shots.
“We weren’t letting them get into transition, we were playing better defense,” she said.
Moving forward Aybar knows if her team plays defense like it has been, McClancy will have a shot against the league’s top to squads in the post season.
“Defense wins games,” Aybar said. “Offense sells tickets.”
