NEW YORK –It’s almost as if St. Michael Academy never left.

After the former girls basketball power closed earlier this year, numerous players followed head coach Apache Paschall to Nazareth Regional High School to lead the rebirth of their girls program.

And just three games into the revival, it appears that the Lady Kingsmen will be picking up right where they left off at St. Michael Academy.

Nazareth cemented itself as a new league power by defeating the defending league, city and state champions Christ the King 51-47 Saturday afternoon in the Christ the King Invitational in Middle Village. The Royals lost for just the third time in the past 11 years.

“Last year we (St. Michael Academy) lost to them to go upstate,” senior Tiffany Jones said. “So we came out here and did what we had to do and we won.”

HOW THE GAME WAS WON: An aggressive and physical style of defense propelled Nazareth (3-0, 2-0 league) to the road upset against the defending New York State Federation Class AA champion.

The Lady Kingsmen won the rebounding battle, generating second-chance opportunities for itself and keeping Christ the King (0-1, 0-1) to one-shot possessions. They also blocked several shots during the game.

Nazareth’s full-court pressure forced the Royals into plenty of mistakes, including shot clock violations, backcourt violations, and errant passes which led to steals and turnovers.

A deflection on a pass late in the game led to a steal by Bianca Cuevas, who gave the Lady Kingsmen a 45-41 lead with 46.3 seconds left. About 20 seconds later, tight defense led to Christ the King’s Bria Smith dribbling the ball off her foot to result in a turnover and her fouling Nazareth’s Bra’Shey Ali. Ali hit both free throws to give Nazareth a 49-43 lead.

“I would say more going toward the end of the second quarter when we started pressuring them more, that kind of been my philosophy to start our early in the regular zone and switch it up and see how teams react,” Paschall said. “Once we saw that we at least made them not be able to make sharp passes and cuts and we stuck with it.”
TURNING POINT: The game was tied at 38 with 3:40 remaining and the Lady Kingsmen scored the next four points to take a lead it would never relinquish. Jones, who scored 15 points, was fouled in the lane and hit two free throws for a 40-38 edge, and after a block by Taylor Ford, Cuevas hit two free throws following a foul to give Nazareth a four-point lead.

Nazareth hit 13 of its final 14 free throw attempts in the final 3:40.

STAR OF THE GAME: In a game full of future Division I athletes, a 14-year-old freshman stole the show. Cuevas scored a team-high 16 points to lead Nazareth to the upset, scoring seven points in the fourth quarter. Perhaps even more impressive, she did it coming off the bench.

“I’ve been playing against top girls since I was in like 6^th grade,” Cuevas said. “So I was never scared.”

Cuevas played pesky defense and was able to get into the paint with ease, albeit recklessly at times. She didn’t stray from taking shots as the game winded down and never let the moment become too big for her. She hit 5-of-8 free throws down the stretch to help the Lady Kingsmen stay in front.

In fact, the freshman seemed more nervous talking to reporters after than she did at any point in the game.

“She’s not a regular kid,” Paschall said. “She’s just a young kid with an old soul, that’s Bianca.”

BIGGEST SURPRISE: In its first game of the season, Christ the King looked rusty and turned the ball over way too many times. The physical style of play and relentless defense seemed to slow down the Royals and they never seemed comfortable on the court.

The Royals didn’t look like state champions, playing from behind for most of the game and never asserting their will. Smith scored a game-high 22 points and Nia Oden added 15, but Christ the King failed to get much scoring from elsewhere.

“We shot ourselves in the foot this game,” Smith said. “We just honestly we need to get rebounds, don’t turn over the ball when we didn’t need to.”

QUOTE OF THE GAME: “Everybody don’t’ have faith in us, but we believe since we went to Nazareth as a team we’re going to stick together and take it this year. Nobody has faith in us. We’re a target for everybody. We have to go out there and just go hard no matter what.”—Tiffany Jones

UP NEXT: Nazareth (3-0) will return home to host Bishop Loughlin Monday at 6 p.m. Christ the King (0-1) will host Bishop Ford Tuesday at 6 p.m.