Girls Basketball Team
2012 - 2013 Season
Introducing our 2012 - 2013 Girls Basketball Team
2012-2013 Girls Basketball Schedule
**PLEASE NOTE: The game on Thursday, December 20th is now an AWAY game at Christian Academy of WNY. Start time will be at 3:30pm.
2013 ESDAA Tournament Recap With Coach Booke:
Every season one of the Lady Bison’s highest goals is to meet and exceed all expectations at the ESDAA basketball tournament. This year our squad was ranked and expected to finish in 3rd place.
2/16/2013: SEMI-FINALS: #2 Rhode Island Roosters vs. #3 St. Mary’s Lady Bison’s
This semi-final game was close from start to finish. As momentum swung both ways, neither team could pull away from the other. The Lady Bison’s managed to enter halftime with a minimal lead but it was squandered instantly with the Roosters putting on a press and draining some quick buckets. The Lady Bison’s battled back and were able to draw Rhode Island into some careless fouls which resulted in their best player finishing the game on the bench. Regulation time ended with the score knotted at 37 all. This would be the 1st time that the Lady Bison’s would experience overtime all year. With St. Mary’s having a relatively young squad, it was going to be interesting to see how they would respond to the pressure of playing in overtime against the higher seeded home/host team with a large fan base in their corner. During the extended period of play, both teams played overly cautious as if they were waiting for the other team to make a mistake. After a strategic timeout, the coaching staff explained to our girls that we needed to “play to win the game, instead of playing to not lose”. Our girls were able to step up just enough and pull out a 1 point victory 44-43 to propel us into the ESDAA championship against the Wildcats from Rochester.
Individual Stats:
Shakenya Ward Brassell (22pts./7 rebounds/8 steals)
Andrea Lewis(8pts./9 rebounds/6 steals)
Jamila Torres(8pts./3 rebounds/4 steals)
Jasmine Hollingsworth(6pts./12 rebounds)
At this point of the tournament we were excited to have surpassed the expectations that were put ahead of us by defeating a team that was projected to finish higher then we were. This would be the 4th consecutive year that the Lady Bison’s have played their way into the ESDAA championship game.
2/17/2013: CHAMPIONSHIP: #1 Rochester Wildcats vs. #3 St. Mary’s
I would like to tell you that the Lady Bison’s won the finals again this year. Unfortunately, The Wildcats came to play and the Bison’s didn’t. Rochester was in complete control for the entire contest. The Lady Bison’s looked tired and “out of gas”. We tried throwing some different schemes at RSD but nothing seemed to work. Although the entire game was frustrating to play, coach, and watch, many of our younger players stuck it out until the end and proceeded to wish Rochester congratulations on their tournament championship. The final score was 55-23. I know it is a cliché, but “what doesn’t kill us, makes us stronger”. This was a big learning experience for our group and hopefully a motivator for years to come. Congrats to Andrea Lewis, Rebecca Swiatek, Emily Murphy, & Dinahliz Quinones for participating in their last ESDAA basketball tournament.
Individual Stats:
Shakenya Ward-Brassell (13pts./8 rebounds/2 steals)
ESDAA ALL-STARS:
1st Team: Shakenya Ward-Brassell
2nd Team: Andrea Lewis
Ann Leo Courage Award: Rebecca Swiatek
2012 - 2013 Game Recaps With Coach Booke:
February 26th vs. West Seneca Christian (IAC Playoffs): After a week’s vacation, the Lady’s Bison’s matched up against West Seneca Christian in the IAC playoffs last night. Although our girls were still licking their wounds from the ESDAA tournament, they attempted to put their best foot forward in an effort to extend the season just a little bit longer. This was the third time that these two teams have played against one another this season with SMSD having won both meetings.
Unfortunately, tonight the odds didn’t go in our favor. In the end, our inexperience, injuries, lack of consistency all season, and missed opportunities caught up to us and we squandered a late 4th quarter lead to fall to the Falcons 34-31. With that our 2013 campaign has come to completion with an 8-8 (.500) record overall.
Please wish the girls congrats on a successful season and the seniors( Andrea Lewis, Dinahliz Quinones, Emily Murphy, & Rebecca Swiatek) congrats on a successful basketball career.
February 12th vs. West Seneca Christian: The Lady Bison’s tipped off against league opponent West Seneca Christian School yesterday afternoon. It had been over a month since our team tasted victory and it just so happened to have been against the Falcons. It was also our final regular season home game of the 2012-2013 campaign.
Although it is a cliché, the coaching staff has been encouraging our players to “stay the course” and to keep playing our brand of basketball. Both squads had made significant changes since their first meeting earlier in the season and it was fun to watch as the game unfolded. The Falcons climbed out to an early 6 point lead at the end of the 1st quarter and extended it by 3 more points going into halftime.
We reiterated to our girls that although our efforts were not showing up on the score board as of yet, that they were playing very good basketball. In the second half, the Lady Bison’s “flipped the script” and were able to mount a comeback to tie the contest at 37 at the waning seconds of the 3rd quarter. The 4th quarter was wide open with both teams trying to impose their will on the other.
In the end, the Lady Bison’s came out on top 53-45. It was a hard fought victory and a nice boost of confidence heading into this weekend’s ESDAA tournament. Please wish our girls congrats and good luck.
February 5th vs. The Park School: In our last warm-up before the ESDAA tournament this weekend, the Lady Bison’s took on defending IAC league champion, the Pioneers from the Park School in the second of a home and home series. In our initial meeting against the Pioneers a few weeks prior, they blew us out of their gym by 30 points. In our teams defense, we played with only our 5 substitutes and had no one on our bench to help relieve them. This time around was a different story.
We had almost a full squad and were able to mix and match against our opponents. The girls played stingy defense and entered halftime only down by 3 baskets. In the second half, the momentum swung both ways as the Lady Bison’s and the Pioneers were getting their shots to fall. Dinahliz Quinones had a career high with 7 points. Unfortunately, in the end our girls fell short of winning by 6 points, 40-34.
This was a much improved performance and our girls were able to see a significant improvement.
January 24th vs. The Park School: The Lady Bison’s travelled to the Park School yesterday to face off against the defending IAC champions, The Pioneers. With all 5 starters out of the line-up, the Lady Bison’s put the daunting task of trying to stop our recent losing streak on the shoulders of 2nd and 3rd string players. Despite a courageous effort, our team was not equipped to handle the level of skill and talent that the Pioneers bring on to the court year in and year out. The girls did their best with what we had and never gave up. The final score was 48-18.
On some positive notes, Rebecca Swiatek was put into the starting line-up for the first time in her entire 4 year varsity career and played the entire game. On a similar note, Vaughntasia Hawkins scored her first basket of her 2 year varsity career. Please wish congratulations to both girls for their accomplishments.
Our next game is against the Wildcats from Rochester School for the Deaf on Thursday, Jan. 31st. Hopefully our depleted line-up will be back in action by then. Please continue to support our Lady Bison’s through these ups and downs.
January 22nd vs. Health Science: Although the Lady Bison’s became a little bit healthier over the long weekend by getting back two players from the inactive list, the girls were still recovering and were not able to function at their highest level. As a result, we were no match for the team from Health Science Charter school. Considering the limited experience of the personnel that was forced into a starting role, our players exceeded the coaching staffs expectations.
We remained positive throughout the entire contest and focused on the things that we were doing well. Once Jamilia Torres and Monica Burger were able to shake off some of their rust, both girls were able to start contributing offensively in an effort to make the game respectable on the scoreboard. Both Emily Murphy and Jasmine Hollingsworth did their best to control the boards on defense. We lost by the score of 40-20.
Our next game is Thursday against last year’s IAC champion, the Pioneers from the Park School. Once again, the team will be playing undermanned with a short bench but the coaching staff knows that the girls who are on the floor will give their best effort. Please continue to support the Lady Bison’s with words of encouragement.
January 17th vs. Christian Academy of WNY: Decimated by illness and injury the Lady Bison’s limped into their contest last night against the CAWNY Eagles without 3 key starters and then proceeded to lose another starter to injury half way through the game. The game went back & forth with neither team grabbing a large advantage.
Unfortunately in the end we couldn’t hold on any longer and it became too much for us to overcome. The team lost by the score of 33-24. Although the girls who came off the bench(Tracy White, Vaughntasia Hawkins, & Rebecca Swiatek) made a valiant effort, we could not put the broken pieces back together. At this point the team needs to focus on getting healthy and re-dedicating ourselves for a second half of the season push. Please encourage our girls to stay positive and “stay the course”.
January 10th vs. West Seneca Christian: The Lady Bison’s picked up another win on January 10th by defeating the Falcons from West Seneca Christian. With our starting point guard out of the line-up with an undisclosed upper body injury, it pressed our girls into some unfamiliar positions this week. However, the team responded well and we were able to move on without “skipping a beat”.
The Lady Bison’s were in complete control throughout the entire contest and it gave the coaching staff the opportunity to not only get our entire bench(Rebecca Swiatek, Emily Murphy, Vaughntasia Hawkins, and Tracy White) into the game but we were able to run some different schemes that we ordinarily don’t get time to practice against genuine competition. The Lady Bison’s turned tenacious defense led by Jamilia Torres into solid offensive production with 22 team steals and 34 team rebounds.
The final score was 42-31. As we rapidly approach our mid season mark we remain undefeated in the IAC and have only one tarnish on our overall record(6-1). That being said, the coaching staff has reiterated to the team to enjoy our recent success but there is still work to be done and to remain focused and grounded.
Our next game is Wednesday, January 16th which will be the last in a season series against IAC foe Christian Academy of Western New York. Please wish us luck.
January 8th vs. New Life Christian: In the wake of a long winter vacation, the Lady Bison’s came back rejuvenated and ready to once again hit the hardwood in an effort to sustain the momentum that they carried into the holiday break. Nevertheless, they would be faced with a difficult test last evening as former IAC opponent New Life Christian rolled into our house with only one blemish on their overall record.
At first glance, one would think with New Life’s decisive height advantage that our girls would be intimidated. However, our squad has just accepted the fact that most teams who we compete against will generally be bigger than we are. As the old saying goes, “the bigger they are… the harder they fall”. Our ladies were ready to take on the challenge in front of us no matter how daunting it may seem at first. The contest was very competitive with the outcome in doubt right up to the very end. Both teams took the lead at one point only to relinquish it back.
With the help of some solid defense led by Jamila Torres, Dinahliz Quinones, and Emily Murphy the Lady Bison’s were able to snatch a victory in the waning minute of the game by the score of 34-27. Our girl’s demonstrated that heart and determination is the most important advantage on the court. Please wish them congrats on a job well done.
We would also like to thank our friends from the Buffalo State Women’s basketball team for attending our game last night and continuing a wonderful relationship between the two teams. Our next match-up is this Thursday against IAC league opponent West Seneca Christian. We now stand at 5-1
December 18th vs. Aurora Academy: The Lady Bison’s rebounded (pun intended) from their 1st loss last week with a strong performance against the Academy of Aurora. Both teams matched up well against each other and once again our squad found themselves involved in a closely contested game. The Panthers and the Bison’s both took their share of the lead at the start of the game but the Bison’s were able to squeak out a 3 point advantage at halftime.
The coaching staff made some modifications and were able to fine tune our offense while preparing our players on what to expect from our opponent once we stepped back onto the court. In the second half of the contest our girls anticipated our adversary applying a full court press and with the foundation they were given in practice combined with our overall team speed from Monica Burger, Andrea Lewis, and Shakenya Ward-Brassell we were able to break the Panthers pressure and employ our own pressure on both sides of the ball. Gradually we pulled away on the scoreboard and prevailed at the end by the score of 34-19.
Please wish congrats to the Lady Bison’s on a hard fought and well deserved victory. Our last game of the 2012 year will be our first “away” game of the season against newcomer to the I.A.C The Christian Academy of WNY (CAWNY). Wish us good luck and a happy new year.
December 13th vs. Central Baptist: Despite a valiant effort, the Lady Bison’s suffered their first defeat of the season in a heartbreaker to the Lions of Central Baptist. It was an even match-up with both teams taking turns with the upper hand on the scoreboard. The Lady Bison’s ran into some foul trouble early and it limited many of the things we were looking to accomplish. However, with this group of athletes lead by Andrea Lewis, Monica Burger, and Jamilia Torres, the word quit does not exist. They continued to play aggressive and refused to stop hussling until the contest was over.
Unfortunately, we did fall short of victory by 4 baskets by the score of 37-29. Upon conclusion of the game, the coaching staff explained that a lot more can be learned from losing a game then winning one. Please join us next week Tuesday as we look to try and get over this minor bump in the road against the Academy of Aurora at 5pm.
December 11th vs. Amherst Christian Academy: Off the heels of our first win of the season last week, the Lady Bison’s went back to work yesterday afternoon against the Amherst Christian School in an effort to build off of our recent success. Our goals were to clean up some of our mistakes and try to avoid a slow start.
With one of our starters missing from the line-up and players being forced to adjust to new positions in only our 2nd contest of the season, there was the potential of some setbacks. However, the girls kept their composure and focused on the task at hand. From the start of the game the Lady Bison’s “flexed their muscles”. Amherst Christian was unable to match the speed of our guards (Monica Burger & Jamila Torres) on either side of the ball.
With a sizeable advantage on the scoreboard, the coaching staff was able to get our entire bench onto the floor for some quality minutes. Emily Murphy, Vaughntasia Hawkins and Tracy White did not disappoint when given the opportunity to play by combining for 12 points and 6 rebounds.
At halftime the message to our squad was to remained focused and avoid becoming over confident. There was still a half of a game left to play and our opponent will make some adjustments in an attempt to stop whatever we set up. That being said, the second half of the game picked up where things had left off previously.
With all of our substitutes in the game we were still able to dictate the tempo and finish off Amherst Christian 58-20 for our one and only meeting this season. Congrats to the Lady Bison’s for their 2nd victory in as many games.
Please join us on Thursday as the challenge rises when we take on Central Baptist in a 5pm tip-off.
December 7th vs. Pennsylvania School for the Deaf: Last Friday evening the Lady Bison’s basketball program opened its 2012-2013 campaign on the front end of an extended home stand against the Panthers from Pennsylvania School for the Deaf. It was the first opportunity for the coaching staff to scrutinize our team against authentic competition. It would also be the first occasion for our players to test themselves under duress that has not been simulated like they have encountered during practice for over a month. With our line-up comprised of a few rookies (Monica Burger, Jasmine Hollingsworth, & Jamilia Torres) mixed in with some veteran leadership, it remained to be seen how they would come together as a team.
It was to be expected that our squad would start off tight, especially considering the girls were still becoming accustom to their positions and each other. The first half of the contest was filled with many of your common mistakes including missed shots and turnovers. Although the Lady Bison’s entered halftime with a marginal 5 point advantage, you could sense that we were becoming more comfortable “in their our own skin”. We made some adjustments and in the 2nd half we were able to control our opponents with some stifling defense.
The 4th quarter saw our team go on a 22-4 run and eventually close out the Panthers 50-25. With our veterans (Dinahliz Quinones, Andrea Lewis, Shakenya Ward- Brassell, & Rebecca Swiatek) combing for 32 points, 15 rebounds, and 17 steals and our rookies chipping in 16 points, 15 rebounds, and 4 steals it was a complete team victory. Please wish congrats to our Lady Bison’s for winning their home opener.
Our next match-up is today at home against Amherst Christian at 3:30. Please come and continue to support our team.
2011 - 2012 Season Highlights
THREE-PEAT!
ESDAA DIVISION II CHAMPIONS!!
The Girls Basketball Team won the ESDAA Division II Girls Basketball Championship
on February 11th, 2012 in Delaware.
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**RECORD SETTING SEASON**
Senior Crystle Marion is now the CURRENT WNY Girls Basketball Scoring Record Holder
As of 3/1/12
Crystle's final point total: 2,527
Previous record: 2,420 (held by Samantha Kopp from Franklinville)
CONGRATULATIONS CRYSTLE ON ALL YOUR HARD WORK THROUGHOUT THE YEARS!!!!
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