Shanice Vaughan was going to do everything in her power to keep Bishop Ford’s season alive on a night it was shorthanded.
“I wanted to win,” the UTEP-bound guard said. “I felt I had to step up for my team.”
Vaughan ended her career with one of her best performance and a milestone. She paced Ford with 26 points, five treys and 11 rebounds in a disappointing 58-51 loss to Archdiocesan champion Moore Catholic in the CHSAA Class AA girls basketball quarterfinals Wednesday night at St. Francis Prep.
“That's just a senior determined not to let today be her last senior game of high school basketball,” Falcons coach Mike Toro said. “She tried her best, but unfortunately the outcome wasn’t what she wanted.”
An Rong Xu
Bishop Ford's Shanice Vaughan scored her 1,000th point in a loss to Moore Catholic.
Vaughan scored the 1,000th point of her career on an 18-foot runner in the second quarter. She finished with 1,018 for her career. Aaliyah Lewis had eight points and Jill Conroy seven. Vaughan said assistant coach and statistician Mary Gillespie didn’t tell her she was approaching the mark last night.
“It felt good,” she said. “I wanted to break it, but I didn’t know I was that close to it. She kept me updated, but after awhile she stopped telling me.”
Ford (22-6) played without start guard Aaliyah Jones and reserve Jeane Jennings, who were suspended for the game due to what Toro called a "coach’s decision." Center Brittany (Pookie) Martin only played the second half. She was a game time decision after suffering an asthma attack after the Falcons loss to Christ the King last Saturday in the Brooklyn/Queen final.
“I feel it’s a major letdown,” said Toro, who has battled anxiety this season, "I feel this was a very rough end of the season and I regret some of the stuff that had to happen at the end of the season. I felt this was our best chance to really make a run at a state title.”
He watched Moore Catholic guards Jamie O’Hare and Christina Rubin combine for 43 points and nine 3-pointers. O’Hare’s trey with 2:40 left in the game put the Mavericks (21-5) up for good. Ford got within 52-51 with 53 seconds remaining, but Dina Motrechuk nailed a jumper with 31 ticks left and the Falcons proceeded to turn the ball over. Toro felt his team forced the issue in the closing minutes.
“We showed time and time again we can win with anybody who is on the team,” Toro said. “We didn’t get the job done, but we are going to have more opportunities. This is not the last time you are going to hear about Bishop Ford being a contender.”
Molloy’s Drogler excels doing the little things: Patti Dorgler read the situation perfectly – as usual.
The Archbishop Molloy junior saw a St. Anthony’s ball hander swarmed by two defenders and another Friar streaking up the left side line late in overtime.
“I just figured she was going to pass it,” Dorgler said.
She jumped the passing lane and collected her third and biggest steal of the game. There was a moment of trepidation as Drogler had to dribble the ball up, a job usually reserved for Amani Tatum. On the ensuing possession Kamille Ejerta buried a 3-pointer from the right corner to put the Stanners up four with 40 seconds left to play. It help the Stanners come way with a 58-55 upset of the nationally ranked Friars in the CHSAA Class AA quarterfinals.
“That was the greatest feeling ever,” Drogler said.
Added Tatum: “It’s just what she does. It never goes unnoticed what she does.”
The steal was the cap to another typical blue-collar performance. She scored 10 points and tool three charges. Drogler, who joked that she flops, said she doesn't view herself as something she is not and realizes she doesn’t need to be a 20-point scorer. She just tries to excel at the aspects of games she is good at, and playing hard and smart whenever she is on the floor. He brother Chris was a star on the Molloy boys team and is now a freshman at St. Rose.
“I don’t think I’ve had to second guess her once all year,” Molloy coach Scott Lagas said. “She’s been great.”
Lagas called her his biggest surprise when the year started, but that’s change. Now she is one of the team’s most steady contributors.
“I’ve never actually done this good for the entire season,” Dorgler said. “I felt like this could be our last game, so I wanted to go out with a big bang.”
jstaszewski@nypost.com
Bishop Ford, Bishop Ford, Moore Catholic, CHSAA Class AA, Shanice Vaughan, Falcons coach Mike Toro, Moore Catholic guards Jamie O’Hare, Toro, Patti Dorgler, Aaliyah Lewis, Archbishop Molloy, St. Francis, Aaliyah Jones
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