It wasn’t the type performance Grand Street wanted and certainly not the ending with playoff seeding on the line.
Wolves coach Corey McFarlane was critical of his team’s play after a 43-42 loss to host Francis Lewis in Public School Athletic League Class AA girls’ basketball on Feb. 2. Grand Street was plagued by turnovers, poor shot selection and were unable to take advantage of a smaller Lewis team inside.
“We played [poorly],” McFarlane said. “We play like that, we don’t win. You don’t deserve to win when you play like that.”
This game was crucial for both teams’ playoff positioning, with the winner setting itself up to be the No. 2 seed and potentially avoiding defending champions South Shore until the final. Grand Street could drop to No. 4 as a result of the loss.
Kaish Lucky was Grand Street’s lone offensive threat with 19 points — none of her teammates had more than six. Asianae Johnson had five points and Shanice Graves had six. Despite its struggles the Wolves had a chance to win late.
Lucky tied the score at 39–39 with a three-pointer with 1:41 left, but Grand Street missed on its next two possessions. Star Fitzgerald-Greer missed an opportunity to put the Wolves on top at the free-throw line with 41 seconds left.
Johnson finally put them ahead 42–41 on a hoop with 14.9 seconds left, but she missed the foul shot on a potential three-point play, which opened the door for Francis Lewis.
“After that foul, everything just went down the drain,” Johnson said.
Francis Lewis’s Taliyah Brisco made the game-winning free throws for Lewis with 11.3 seconds left. Grand Street’s Shanice Graves tried for a three at the buzzer, but she came up short.
“I think it just was the pressure, everybody was just off it,” Graves said. “We weren’t being one [team].”
Grand Street’s (9–3) struggles began in the first quarter — the team made an early three and then hardly scored. By the second quarter, Francis Lewis (13–1) was up 13–6.
Grand Street had the size advantage but had trouble scoring inside and missed easy layups in the paint.
“We just weren’t making very many smart plays as a team,” Johnson said.
