QUEENS, NY - One of the great early season events on the girls basketball calendar each year is the HoopsQueens Francis Lewis Winter Ball held at Francis Lewis H.S.. It brings together some of the top girl teams from the Northeast into one building, and allows some of New York's best the chance to test themselves against some of the best from inside and outside the state.

Saturday was Day 1 of the 2 day event, and it really showcased some of the better teams and players from all around the area, and served its purpose to bring great action to Queens.

The first day was highlighted by a marquee matchup between Bishop Loughlin and Capital Prep of Connecticut in what proved to be just one game of a day's worth of great action. NYCHoops.netwas on hand all day to take in the action and here is a recap of the play from Fresh Meadows on Saturday.

The main thing that Bishop Loughlin head coach Chez Williams wants is improvement. He wants to see his girls making strides to get better each game out, and Saturday's contest against one of Connecticut's best in Capital Prep game gave them another opportunity to show their coach that they are truly heading in the right direction.

Heading into this game against Capital Prep at the HoopsQueens Francis Lewis Winter Ball, the Lady Lions have been a bit up and down. For as good as they looked against some opponents, they have also looked a bit suspect against the likes of Christ the King and St. Frances of Maryland.

What Williams wants is a more cohesive group, he wants his girls to play together more, something he admitted he has been seeing more of as of late, regardless of what the final results might be saying.

On Saturday it all came together in a great way as Milicia Reid '17 led Loughlin with 16 points in a very balanced offensive attack as the Lady Lions upended Capital Prep 60-52.

"We have to get better each game," Williams stressed. "And I feel that we are."

That was Williams feel on his team going into Saturday's game against a familiar foe in Capital Prep. Also being a coach with the New Heights AAU organization, Williams has coached a number of the Trailblazers players, including star Angelique Rodriguez '17, which possibly gave Loughlin a little bit of an advantage in knowing what to look for an defend.

While they may have anticipated what to look for in Rodriguez, the Lady Lions didn't have an answer at the start for Capital Prep's other star in Desiree Elmore '16, as one of the nation's top forwards was able to do a strong job inside early on to give the Trailblazers a quick 10-6 lead.

Once Bishop Loughlin settled down though, and started running their offense in the half court, they were able to execute much more efficiently. Ellease Billings '16 and Lynette Taitt '17 were able to attack the driving lanes, and with strong defensive on ball pressure, the Lady Lions were able to hold Capital Prep scoreless for the last 3:10 of the quarter, allowing Loughlin to take a 16-10 lead after one.

The lead grew to double digits in the second as it was Laysha De La Santos '19 playing like a veteran and doing a great job in the open floor as Loughlin went ahead 20-10 with 5:08 to play in the half.

Rodriguez was not able to get clear looks at the rim from long range as the Loughlin perimeter defense stood their ground, but late in the half it was Elmore and Desiree Davis '18 who were able to chip into the deficit, bringing the Loughlin lead at the half down to just 28-25.

Going into the half up on one of the top teams in the country in Capital Prep, Williams was especially pleased with how well his team was playing together, not seeing just one person to take over the game, it was a true team effort in his eyes.

"I feel like they are getting a better feel for the game and a better feel for each other," Williams said about his team's first half cohesion.

He needed that to continue into the second half though, and while she was quiet for much of the opening 16 minutes, the final 16 were about to show why Reid is so highly thought of amongst many of the college coaches who were on hand.

Reid opened the 3rd quarter with a drive down the right side, and then off a set play, she converted on a floater in the lane over the defense. She scored 9 points during a 10-2 run early in the third for Bishop Loughlin as they lead once again was pushed to 10 at 41-31.

Skydajah Patterson '16 hit 4 FT's to close the quarter as well as she was doing a nice job in the paint as Loughlin took a 44-34 lead going into the 4th.

Capital Prep made a couple runs in the 4th, getting the deficit down to 6 with just over 2 minutes to play, but even with Rodriguez heating up late, Reid and Taitt were their each time the Lady Lions needed a big bucket, and with a cool and calm demeanor Bishop Loughlin walked away from this one on the winning side of the scoreboard, taking down the Trailblazers, 60-52.

Reid had 16 to lead the way for Bishop Loughlin, but Taitt had 12 points and 9 rebounds, while Patterson had 11 points and 7 rebounds. It was a true team effort, and exactly what Williams wanted from his team on Saturday.

"I don't care who the points come from as long as we are scoring and everyone is contributing then I think we will be better as a team," Williams said.

For Capital Prep, Rodriguez ended up with a team and game high 20 points, while Elmore had 18 points and 14 rebounds.

It was a team win, and a win that proved that game after game, Bishop Loughlin is getting better. It was a win also that proved that the Lady Lions can compete against the very best, something Reid says she already knew coming in, but she definitely didn't want to lose in NYC. Something that seemed to motivate the guard in a big way.

"It didn't mean much who they were, it was just about you are not coming down here and beating us in New York. We are going to take this game and you are going to go back with a loss."

Her words rang true as Loughlin did take the win, and they improved off their last game, the thing that made Williams and his girls happiest after the game.

Playing without head coach Ron Kelley who was away for this one on vacation, Nazareth interim head coach Dwight Shaw had his team ready, and even though they trailed for most of the game, they fought back late to send the game into overtime where it became Shalix Hines '16 time, as the guard knocked down back to back treys to help propel the Lady Kingsmen to a 4 point OT win.

Sierra Green '16 looked like she was going to put the Lady Patriots on her teams back. She scored 12 first quarter points, knocking down shots after shot from all over the floor, but even though Green was nearly unstoppable in the early going, Nazareth was hanging around.

Shonnyvelle Regalado '18 had 6 points in the 2nd quarter, and Erykah Russell '16 was controlling the paint inside against an undersized Francis Lewis team, allowing the Lady Kingsmen to climb back in the game and overcome a 9 point first half deficit to take a 25-24 lead into the half.

Quiet for much of the first half, Taliyah Brisco '16 became a major offensive weapon for Francis Lewis in the 3rd as she first drained a corner three, then was on the receiving end of a beautiful pass from Green for a bucket driving in, and then right before the end of the quarter, she hit on a runner in the lane, picking up the offensive slack and helping the Lady Patriots take a 38-35 lead after three.

Lewis took an 8 point lead at 43-35 with 7:10 to go in the game, but then an 8-0 Nazareth run, which was punctuated by a Hines three saw the game tied up with just over 5 minutes to play in what looked like it would be a classic finish.

Russell would connect on a jumper from the FT line to tie the game at 53 with 41 seconds left, and while both teams had chances to take the lead after that, bad passes and contested shots meant both teams would not be able to score in the closing seconds, meaning this game was headed to OT.

It looked like the OT session would be dominated by Nazareth as they came out and scored the first 10 points to take a 63-53 lead with 1:52 to play with Hines connecting on back to back threes to almost put the game out of reach.

The run was eventually broken up by Brisco on a little floater in the lane. That was soon followed by a steal and a Green three ball to saw the 10 point deficit cut in half in a 15 second span.

While Francis Lewis was climbing back into the game, cutting the Nazareth lead to 65-63 with just 6 seconds to play, they needed Regalado to give them hope. They needed her to miss at least 1 FT to let Green or Brisco try and tie or win the game. The sophomore though came up huge, connecting on both to make it a 4 point game. That was essentially it as Francis Lewis didn't get up another shot and it was the visitors Nazareth coming to Francis Lewis for the Winter Ball and taking down the host team 67-63.

Hines had 15 points and 6 assists for Nazareth, while Russell had 14 points and 13 rebounds, with Alexis Sykes '17 adding 10 points in the winning effort.

Green had a game high 29 points for Francis Lewis, while Dominique Williams '16 had 14, and Brisco had 13 for a very game Lady Patriots squad.

While it has not been the start to the season that Nazareth would have hoped with league losses already this season to Christ the King, Bishop Loughlin, and Molloy, Shaw says he knows this win could be a great way to get his team going for the rest of the season.

"We just have to believe in ourselves. We are the only ones that believe in us and with us the key thing is finishing. We have to finish the game strong, close out games. That's to be an emphasis from now until the end of the season. We did it today and hopefully we can do it from here on out."

It wasn't the prettiest of games, but when Kellenberg needed points late, they looked inside to Morgan Staab '17 who had 8 of her team high 14 points in the 2nd half as she was able to help the Firebirds come back from a 2 point halftime deficit and take the 4 point win over Medgar Evers of the PSAL.

Brianna Randolph '19 may just be a freshman, but she played like a star of the future on Saturday and she was able to slide her way into lanes and finish off the dribble from the outside for Medgar Evers, but a clutch long ball late from Katherine Calabro '16 of Kellenberg really was a backbreaker as Medgar Evers came back from an 8 point 4th quarter hole to make it a 1 point game late, only to fall in the end by 4.

Staab who 14, with Calabro adding 10 for Kellenberg, while Randolph led all scorers in this one for Medgar Evers as she paced the way with 16 in the tough defeat.

The Stanners lost a ton to graduation, and many of those who are back from last year's team are injured, so the expectations for Archbishop Molloy had to be tempered, but after a fantastic start to the season, those expectations may once again be growing as they once again pulled out a W, this time over one of Long Island's best in Massapequa by 4.

Melanie Hingher '16 did all she could to keep Massapequa in this one, but the scoring touch of Jenna Mastellone '17 allowed Molloy to hang on late as they didn't have the greatest of all offensive showings, but they did enough on both ends of the floor to hold on and take the victory.

Mastellone had 18 points to lead Molloy, while Hingher had 23 to pace Massapequa in defeat.

The Terriers got down big early on, but Dorothy Matinale '17 allowed SFP to come back from a 15 point deficit to run away with it in the 4th quarter to take the 8 point win.

Matinale had 17 points to lead St. Francis Prep, and in defeat it was a talented youngster in Gabrielle Zaffiro '18 who had 24 points to lead all scorers in the loss.