Girls: LuHi gets an Immaculate win
MANHASSET, NY- When you looked at the record of this season's Long Island Lutheran team coming into Saturday evening's game at the St. Mary's Girls Basketball Showcase against Immaculate Conception of New Jersey and see that they are 8-6 some who don't know any better may think this is a down year for the Crusaders.
That couldn't be further from the truth though as what LuHi head coach Rich Slater has done this year is given them what he calls a basketball death march playing night in and night out against some of the best teams not just from New York, but from across the country.
Playing the type of schedule, they have may not be conducive to getting a lot of ways wins, but what it is doing in the eyes and mind of Slater is getting his team as battle tested and prepared for the Class AA NYS Federation Tournament of Champions at the end of the year as possible.
Saturday's game against Immaculate Conception was a bit of an easier game in the grand scheme of things for Long Island Lutheran as they were able to coast through three quarters and take a lead of as much as 30 before holding on late after a massive Immaculate rally against the Crusaders bench made the score closer than it seemed with a 63-52 final.
One thing Slater made extremely clear on Saturday was that he didn't care about his team's record at all as he said there was a plan with a senior leader in Celeste Taylor '19 as to why he put together a schedule that has seen them take on 7 teams who at one point were ranked nationally in the ESPNW Top 25 poll.
A schedule like that sometimes can ultimately kill a team, but for Slater he took it on as a challenge believing all it would do for his group would make them better.
"As long as we are getting better and getting better with the little things, I'm fine," Slater stated. "People who understand basketball and understand our schedule know what we are trying to do, and if you go game by game it truly is a basketball death march."
It's been tough and a challenge in nearly every game they have played, but Saturday was a break. The Crusaders were more talented than this Immaculate Conception team from Montclair, New Jersey and Slater even admitted this was a good game for them to get some players minutes who don't always get them and hopefully get a comfortable victory.
For nearly three quarters that exactly how this game took place as Taylor came out of the gate connecting from the wings and showing off her range with the future Texas star knocking down 3-4 in the opening half from behind the arc while also showing great court vision and IQ in making great feeds into the post for buckets.
The youth of Long Island Lutheran was fully on display as well with Paris Clark '22 displaying her versatility in scoring from both inside and outside, Chardonnay Hartley '22 proving that she is going to be an on ball weapon for years to come, and Aaliyah Del Rosario '23 at 6'5" showing that around the rim there isn't much she can't do in terms of rebounding and finish against just about anybody.
It was a 37-19 lead for Long Island Lutheran at the half, a lead that only continued to grow in the 3rd with Kaylene Smikle '22 was able to hit from the midrange and also push the tempo and score in transition scoring 10 of her 12 points in the period that saw the lead go from 18 at the half to as much as 31 after the Crusaders took a 57-26 advantage.
Things went a bit haywire down the stretch for LuHi though as Slater would play a good amount of players who don't normally get court time in the type of games the Crusaders usually play, and because of that against the Immaculate Conception starters they struggled at times causing them to be outscored 26-6 in the 4th quarter, though the lead was at a point to where Long Island Lutheran and Slater didn't need to worry.
All that changed was the closeness of the game as the final score of 63-52 wasn't indicative of just how well the Crusaders played as they got 12 points from Smikle, 11 points from Taylor in just two and a half quarters, 10 points from Clark, and 9 points and 12 rebounds from Del Rosario is a strong all-around team effort.
In the loss that saw Immaculate never quit, Jordan Hill '19 would lead all scorers with 20 points for the Lions.
Calling it a learning experience for a lot of his bench players, Slater wasn't upset at how the fourth quarter played out as he says it will only help them for the next time, they see a situation like this, believing that the court time today for some could pay dividends in a situation down the line somewhere.
Now improving to 9-6 on the season, Slater's team will come back just 24 hours later Sunday to take on National Christian Academy out of Maryland in another game against a perennial national power.
That's fine though as Slater believes the best thing this year that's happened is that his team, full of young 2022 and even 2023 stars, believes they can get a Federation Championship this season, which for him is all he has wanted out of this tough and grueling schedule.
"I'd be disappointed if they didn't think they could win it. Whether we do or not is something else because there are a lot of good teams out there and you never know what could happen on any given night, but do they think they can win it this year? Definitely," Slater said.
