The Boys & Girls High School girls’ basketball team has the talent, but not the maturity, and that’s irking its head coach as the squad readies for this season’s difficult second half.
“It’s frustrating when you know the girls have the ability to do it, but they just don’t come out and exude it,” said coach Laron Mapp. “That’s the frustrating part.”
Staten Island Academy — one of the city’s top clubs — stomped the Kangaroos at the Play 4 Kay Hoops 4 Help showcase at Nazareth on Jan. 3. Starting guards Lauren Seagers and Kania Pollock couldn’t play the first quarter for disciplinary reasons, which hampered the struggling squad.
“As a team, we have to hold it together,” said senior guard Katheryn Kanhoye.
Boys & Girls never recovered after the Tigers scored the final nine points of the first quarter to take a 24–9 lead.
The team got frustrated easily and squad members blew their opportunity to perform well in front of college coaches, Mapp said.
“I feel like our drive should be so high,” he said. “These young ladies should realize there are so many opportunities for them to better their lives. This isn’t about winning — it’s about going to school for free.”
Boys & Girls (3–4) has the potential to be one of the best team in the Public School Athletic League after going 7–8 a year ago. It lost to defending champion South Shore by just four points in its opener and to semifinalist Francis Lewis by six its next time out. It rattled off wins against Midwood and Kennedy before falling 79–61 to Grand Street, one of the city’s title favorites. The Kangaroos have non-league games against top teams such as Archbishop Molloy, Newark Tech, and Sachem East in January.
“I really feel like we have an opportunity to be there with the South Shores, the Francis Lewises, and the Grand Streets, but it’s mental,” Mapp said.
Kanhoye shared the sentiment, but said a lack of teamwork is holding the squad back.
“We are at their level when we play as a team,” she said.
Mapp pleaded with his club to play harder and smarter against Staten Island Academy. The Kangaroos have a trio of guards in Kanhoye, Seagers, and Pollock that should allow it to compete with most teams, and junior center Fatoumata Konare, who stands 6-foot-6, gives Boys & Girls unique weapon in the paint.
Still, the team has to step up if it hopes to knock off the elite teams.
“As a whole team we have to be better,” Kanhoye said. “Pick each other up.”
