Eagles soar over Kearney for Brooklyn-Queens title

March 6, 2015 Jim Dolan

Photo courtesy of Jim Dolan

St. Edmund Prep 66, Bishop Kearney 53

After beating the Eagles for their only loss of the regular season, it was only fitting that number two seeded Bishop Kearney met number one seeded St. Edmund Prep for the Brooklyn-Queens championship game.

St. Edmund Prep had advanced from the semi-finals with a win over Fontbonne, while Bishop Kearney had advanced with a victory over Monsignor McClancy for the Division II championship game that was held at Archbishop Molloy in Briarwood, Queens this past Sunday March 1.

It’s not uncommon for a top seeded team to be tight as drum in the championship game after easily dominating play during the regular season. For St. Edmund, this is exactly what happened from the beginning of the game as the Eagles missed easy shots and routine lay-ups to fall behind the Tigers 24-21 with less than a minute left in the first half.

With the seconds ticking down in the second quarter, St. Edmund’s Kellie O’Neill (15 points) suddenly sprung up to make a buzzer-beating three point shot to tie the game at 24-24 to give the Eagles the boost they needed to carry them into the second half.

“That was really a big momentum switch for us going into halftime,” said second year Head Coach Frank Kelly, citing O’Neill’s shot as the team’s wake-up call.

Going into the third quarter, the Eagles played off that “momentum switch” as the game’s high scorer Alex Jacques (29 points) led a 25-13 run that would decide the course of the game for St. Edmund at 49-37 to begin the fourth quarter.

Commenting on the season and the 66-53 championship win, Coach Kelly stated, “The girls worked hard and played together as a team this season. They reached the goal that they set earlier in the season – to win a championship.”

As for St. Edmund Prep, the Girls Varsity championship trophy will be a welcome addition to the school’s trophy case as Athletic Director Jim Grillo sets aside the last championship trophy that the Eagles earned back in 2001.