See this story at BrooklynDaily.com.
By Mike Morton
Brooklyn Daily
Bishop Loughlin’s Imani Tate may have had a hard time finding the Baruch College gym on Friday night, but her shots certainly had no problem finding the bottom of the net after she arrived in time for the second quarter of the Mayor’s Cup game.
Once Tate, who got lost driving around Manhattan with her mom, found the gym, she scored a game-high 22 points to lead the Catholic schools to a dominant 100-66 victory over their Public School Athletic League counterparts in the senior All-Star contest.
The Albany commit had no problem getting into a groove despite not warming up. Sprinting several blocks might have had something to do with that.
“I got out the car like five blocks away and ran here, so I was warm,” Tate said. “I was sweating when I came in, so I didn’t really need to warm up.”
From the opening tipoff, it was clear that the Catholic High School Athletic Association squad was not taking the game lightly.
“I could tell they weren’t in the game,” said Bishop Ford’s Aaliayah Lewis. “Me, I was in the game. I’m trying to win. That’s what I came out here for, I didn’t come out here to lose.”
The St. John’s-bound Lewis scored 18 points and was named game’s most valuable player. It was more than just an all-star game to the CHSAA, it was a chance to prove its league was the superior one.
“You hear all this stuff, that PSAL is just as good as Catholic, [but] they’re not,” Tate said. “We knew that we had to prove to everybody else they weren’t.”
The boys’ game that followed the girls’ was a stark contrast to the opening act, with the PSAL boys squad defeating the CHSAA 148-136 in overtime.
The PSAL held off a late charge in the fourth quarter that sent the game to overtime, then made quick work of the Catholic schools’ team. Abraham Lincoln’s Elijah Davis led the way for the public schools in the extra session, when he score seven of his 19 points. He was motivated by a desire to prove that the PSAL is as talented as the CHSAA.
“It’s good for the PSAL to win, because it shows we’re competitive just like them,” he said.
Thomas Jefferson’s Rachard Moody scored 15 points and dished out numerous assists. Often overlooked because of his size, Moody was elated just to be selected for the game. The game was special for him because he got the chance to prove he can play with the most elite players in the city.
“I feel like I belong in that group,” Moody said. “I just wanted to show that I can play with this type of group.”