Girls: Christ the King Remains on Top

MIDDLE VILLAGE, NY - New York State’s number one ranked team punctuated that point on Sunday during the opening game of the Apparel Challenge. After brushing off some ring rust, the NYGHoops.com # 1 ranked Christ the King Lady Royals cruised by #2 ranked South Shore, 51 – 37.

“We looked like we had a couple of snow days,” admitted Royals head coach Bob Mackey. “We looked a little rusty in the beginning and didn’t score early but I liked the way we battled back.”

Even without one of their go-to-girls, Natalija Marshal ‘20 who rolled her ankle in practice, Christ the King still had the depth to hold off the Lady Vikings. “[Marshal] could have played but we wanted to give her another day to get her back in at full swing,” said Mackey.

South Shore kept the game tied in the opening quarter, primarily due to the exploits of Jasmine Johnson ‘18 but the Royals opened the game up in the second quarter as Kaelyn Satterfield ‘19 dominated inside. The senior forward poured in 14 of her game high 26 points in the second quarter and singlehandedly outscored the entire Vikings squad 14 – 5 to give Christ the King a substantial 24 – 13 advantage at the half.

“Kate handled the game very well,” said Mackey. “I thought she managed the game well and made some good decisions. She brought us back with a couple of key shots early.”

The Lady Vikings did compete more in the third quarter but could do no more than exchange buckets with Christ the King. Still trailing by eight as the fourth quarter began, the Vikings made it final push but a strong quarter by Klarke Sconiers ‘19, who added 9 points, and Satterfield extended the Royals lead, putting the win out of reach for South Shore.

Johnson was South Shore’s leading scorer with 10 points.