The combination of tournament MVP Danae Brown and defensive stalwart Mikala Morrison, at either ends of the court, helped the Queen’s School reclaim the ISSA Urban Area Schoolgirl Basketball title with a 49-33 win over St Andrew High School in the final, at the University of the West Indies on Monday.
Brown, who was playing on another level to her peers, led the scoring with 31 points. She also had six steals and four rebounds, while at the other end of the court, Morrison led with 10 rebounds, five steals and four blocks. She also contributed four points.
Coach of St Andrew High Franklin Burrell said the Brown-Morrison combination on the day was unplayable.
When asked what happened, Burrell responded.
“Danae Brown happened. She is an exceptional player for Queen’s, not only Danae but Mikala Morrison, an exceptional player.
“Defensively, she (Morrison) blocked a lot of our shots or altered our shots and because of that we missed a lot of shots.
“If that hadn’t happened we would be in the game and anything could have happened at the end. So I must give kudos to that defensive player (Morrison) and Danae, who is an exceptional offensive player,” he commented.
After losing their urban area title last year, MVP Brown was happy to reclaim the championship.
“The school is undefeated and we reclaimed this title. It’s been an honour to play for Queen’s. The efforts of my teammates, I am proud of them and that makes me push harder,” she said.
Queen’s came out in an uncompromising mood and raced into a 9-0 lead. A stunned St Andrew took some time to settle into the game, but found themselves behind 19- 6 at the end of the first quarter.
St Andrew were much better and more competitive in the second period, which they won 10-9, but still trailed Queen’s by 12 points (28-16).
St Andrew continued to make up ground in the third quarter, which they won 9-7, but still lagged behind by 10 (35-25).
However, in the final quarter, Brown and company reasserted their dominance, taking the period 14-8, for a convincing 16-point victory at the end.
“Like in every final the game was a give and take,” said winning coach Donald Bimmer.
“We got a good jump because we were able to get a 19-6 first-quarter lead and then from there we managed the scoring and the possession, because we were able to get the lead that we wanted and maintained that throughout,” he said.
He added that the aim now is to defend the all-island title and reclaim the double.
“That’s the plan, just like we did two years ago when we won both urban and all-Island and the plan this year is to accomplish that.”
Queen’s will meet the winner of the rural final between Mancheter High School and Mount Alvernia, scheduled for May 8, in the all-island decider.
