By Greg Hancock
After climbing to the No. 10 ranking in CCS basketball, the St. Francis Lady Lancers had the rug pulled out from under them last week when it was determined that proper paperwork hadn’t been filed for a transfer student. As a result of this error, the team’s first 20 games were forfeited.
Since the difficult decision was passed down, the Lancers have tried to keep their heads up and look at the experience as one that can either make you stronger or tear you apart. These strong and optimistic girls, along with a solid coaching staff, seem to have chosen the former.
Last Friday, the Lancers tried to put all of the drama aside as they traveled to face a dominant Sacred Heart Cathedral team that has lost only once all year long. A sluggish first half put St. Francis in an early hole from which they were not able to recover; although the Lancers outscored the Fighting Irish in the second half, they were defeated 63-44.
Despite all that has happened, the season still goes on. The Lady Lancers played their first game since the ruling earlier in the week, and soundly defeated Sacred Heart Prep 60-38. Playing against the Fighting Irish, however, proved to be a much more daunting task.
“We were on our heels and not attacking,” says Cynthia Curley. “We were playing timid against them.”
Curley scored seven of her eight points in the second half to lead the resurgence. Kristin Montanari chipped in with nine, while Rebecca Tratter was the game’s high scorer with 16 points.
For Sacred Heart Cathedral, there is an all-around balanced attack present that makes this team tough to beat. No one player scored more than 11 points, but 11 of the team’s 13 players scored on the night.
After forfeiting 20 games, one might assume that there would be no chance for the Lady Lancers to play in CCS. But in fact there is still a gleam of hope.
“The only way we can play in CCS is if we win the WCAL Tournament,” says Curley. “That would mean knocking off two defending state champions, Sacred Heart and Mitty.”
Defeating both Mitty and Sacred Heart Prep will be a monumental task for St. Francis, as those teams have a combined 44-2 record on the season. But at this point of the year and after enduring such a shock, the Lancers have become somewhat hardened to adversity and look forward to the challenge.
“We cried a lot, but we are stronger for it,” says Curley. “I’m really proud of my team and how we’ve come out of it. When you face a crisis and a shock like we did, it’s easy to fall apart and start throwing blame, but our team came together so strong and nobody was blaming anyone else.”
“We’ve been taking it one day at a time,” said coach Ashley Hill, on how her team is coping. “Their goal now is to win the tournament, so they are working hard each day and still having fun. We just reminded them why we play sports, and it’s not for CCS or for a championship. It’s because they enjoy each other.”
Curley spoke candidly about how she and her teammates will be challenged in the upcoming WCAL Tournament in an attempt to qualify for CCS.
“We’re going to have to do it the hard way.”
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