It was a loss that left Nazareth doing some soul searching.
The Lady Kingsmen had a chance to end the long weekend with a much-needed win, but blew a double-digit lead against Murry Bergtraum. It forced the Nazareth girls’ basketball team to take a hard look at itself after the 68–61 loss at the Super Jam at Nazareth on Monday.
Lady Kingsmen coach Ron Kelley groused that he saw his players all doing their own thing out on the court instead of following the game plan.
“They are not listening to me,” said a frustrated Kelley. “They are not doing what I am asking them to do on defense, and they are not listening to what I am asking them to do on offense.”
The Lady Kingsmen’s downfall started midway through the third quarter. Murry Bergtraum went on a 10–2 run behind five points from Ardella Brown to cut the Nazareth lead to 46–44. Nazareth was able to extend its lead back to five on a trey from Niya Johnson, but the Lady Blazers ended the quarter with a layup from Daisya Francis to make it 51–48. Kelley saw his team break from their game plan in this stretch.
“They got selfish,” he said. “Quick shots started going up, starting fast breaks, started losing the lead.”
Bergtraum began the fourth quarter the way it ended the third. The Manhattan school used a 10–2 run, which was capped off by a three-point play by Brown, to go ahead 58–53. Bergtraum was even without Seton Hall-bound guard Ashanae McLaughlin, who missed the game to be with her grandmother in the hospital.
Nazareth Senior Brittney Jackson, who was a member of last year’s squad that graduated five Division I players, knows this season’s group needs to get back on the same page if it is going to have sustained success.
“We don’t listen to Coach Ron,” she said. “We are stubborn. That’s why we are losing games.”
Nazareth was able to cut the Lady Blazers’ lead on back-to-back baskets from Johnson and Erkyah Russell to make it 62–61, but Alex Smith, who had 24 points, iced the game for Murry Bergtraum with a three-point play.
Nazareth started the game off well, jumping out to a quick 16–8 advantage. The Lady Blazers responded with a 16–4 run to go ahead 24–20 in the second quarter.
But the Lady Kingsmen came fighting right back behind Johnson, who scored 22 of her game-high 35 points in the first half. She led a 13–3 run, which was capped off with a trey at the end of the half to put Nazareth ahead 33–27 at the break. Johnson couldn’t explain what happened to her scoring touch in the second half.
“Honestly, I don’t know,” the junior said.
Nazareth went ahead 44–34 in the third on a three-point play from Russell, but things went downhill soon after, and frustration ultimately kicked in for a Lady Kingsmen team that had just fallen to National Christian Academy (D.C.) on Saturday. Kelley knows the team will have to start doing things his way if the results are going to improve.
“They are doing it their way and we are losing games.” Kelley said.
