FBC Defenders

It was a hot and sunny Thursday afternoon, the bustle of 6th avenue raged in the background, as Arizona Pearson emerged from underground at the subway station on the corner of 3rd street and 6th ave in New York City. This is not uncommon for the man who runs the NIKE NYC High School League at W. 4th Street (The Cage). Indeed this looked like just another day, another girls semi-final game, just something to do as it has been done for years. But today’s game would certainly not be just another game. @4:30 p.m. two teams would square off for the coveted chance to advance to Saturday’s championship game. On this day the FBC Defenders were facing a very talented and well coached Baseline team from NYC. The Defenders would go into this contest with only 7 brave soldiers (Jasmine Walker, Shalette Brown, Taryana Kelly, Jasmine Phelps, Erika Hairston, Ariel Donza, and Jasmine Lombard) in uniform but knowing that they were capable of getting a win if they just maintained their composure. As the game began, Baseline jumped out on top 19 to 10 after the 1st qtr. Unprecedented at W 4th Street, both coaches acted like it was halftime and took their teams to the W 4th street end of the court to talk between quarters. Whatever coach Stone said to his team must have stirred something deep in their souls because the second quarter was all about the “Defenders” playing defense and attacking the basket. The score at the half was 30 to 28 and the Defenders knew they were close enough to make a run at the win.

The third quarter started was a nip and tuck kind of quarter and the Defenders finally started making their free throws. Jasmine Walker started to pick up her game and that was exactly what the team needed. Until that point the team had been carried on the offensive end by Brown(9), Phelps(7), and Lombard(6). The play of Erika Hairston, Ariel Donza, and Jasmine Lombard would prove to be key on the defensive end as Baseline suddenly found it difficult to get open looks. But If the team was going to get a win now that the defense was clicking they would need another scorer. After 3 quarters the Defenders found themselves still down 43 to 45. That is when coach Stone asked what proved to be the most important question of the game. He queried “So is this how we are to go out? Is this how you want your last game of this season to end?” The look in every player’s eyes screamed a resounding NO! So coach said to the team if you want to go to the championship, you will have to just go out there and take it! Final score Defenders 63, Baseline 62!

Box Score:
Shalette Brown 21pts, Jasmine Phelps 16, Jasmine Walker 11, Jasmine Lombard 11, and Taryana Kelly 4!

The FBC Defenders(STONE) finished up the regular season on a tear (3rd Place) as their final standing are as follows; 4 wins 2 losses, played without their regular season head coach (John Stone) for all W 4th Street games. New head coach (Jasmine Lytle) guided the squad the allof the way and has been flawless in that effort. Big thanks the the adults (John Frederick) on the bench as the team could not possibly have done this without you (Jerod, Mrs. Stone, Andrea). The program is so lucky to have people like you! Reason, Season, Lifetime.

Next up for the Defenders @ W 4th Street are the playoffs where they will be the Lady XMEN in the semi-final game @ 9:15 a.m. Hope to see all Defenders family at the game!!!!

FBC Defenders (Stone) had 1 win and 1 loss today at the Cage in the West 4th Street tournament.  The Defenders took the first game agains the Brooklyn Saints with a final score of 55-34.  Walker scored the first 7 points for the team, then inbounded to Shalette under the basket who put it up for a bucket.  Shalette went on to score 6 more points, ending the quarter at 15-10.  One of the Saints players went down with an injury, and they were forced to play the rest of the game with 4 players.  We continued to spread the offense around, with Walker and Shalette driving and making plays, Ashanti hitting for 3, and Jenean contributing at the foul line.  Janissa hit off the glass for 2, and Tia had a rebound, put back, and foul.  We were ahead 45 to 25 at the end of the 3rd quarter.  The 4th quarter started with Shari finding Ashanti, who took it in for 2.  Shari grabbed a steal, and Jenean pulled down a rebound and put it back for 2.  We continued to work on defense, with Shari forcing a 10 second turnover.  We closed out the game strong, finishing at 55-34.  Shalette was the high scorer with 22, and high rebounder with 12.  Ashanti had 5 assists and 3 steals.

It looked as though the weather might not cooperate for the 2nd game against Lady Xnen, with a few raindrops starting to fall when we tipped off at 11:45.  The game started with turnovers from both sides, and we looked like we needed to settle down.  The game stayed close in the early going, with the half ending with Defenders down by one at 23-24.  The game got increasingly physical, and we seemed to lose our way in the 2nd half.  Unfortunately, we never found our way back and we lost 36-54.  Shalette and Walker both had a high of 10 points, Tia had the high of 11 rebounds, and Ashanti and Walker both had 2 assists.

It was a hot and humid Sunday morning, but FBC Defenders (Stone) opened the West 4th Street tournament with a decisive 41-23 win against the Rising Stars.  Walker grabbed the opening tip and took it in for a layup to start the scoring.  The Rising Stars answered with an outside jump shot for 2, but Shalette soon countered with a driving layup.  Tia grabbed a rebound and put it back up for 2, to put us ahead 6-2.  Everyone contributed with Ashanti hitting outside for 2, then a 3, followed by  Shari sinking a 3.  Walker hit for another 2, followed by another 3 from Ashanti which closed out the first quarter at 19 -5.

While the offense was clicking, the tough defense was even more impressive.  The Defenders were executing extremely well on defense, maintaining their composure in the face of some rough play and trash talking at the Cage.  Tia was a dominating presence in the center, with a block that stopped the Rising Star’s attack.  Janean had a steal, which she promptly turned into a layup and 1!   We finished the first half with a solid 26-7 lead.

The strong D continued in the 2nd half with Walker and Shari tying up the opponents with a jump ball.  Shalette blocked a shot, then converted an inbound pass for 2.  We did start to slow down in the latter part of the game, no doubt a result of the oppressive heat and playing short-handed with only six players.  Walker closed out the game with a 3 to bring us to the final 41-23.