Lady Vikings Earn Second Straight Trip To Postseason

By Jerry Del Priore

As a result of a solid season, in which they compiled an impressive 11-3 record, the South Shore High School girl's basketball team had a second place finish in the PSAL AA Girls' Division behind Abraham Lincoln, they earned a trip to the postseason for the second straight year.

The ranking allowed the Lady Vikings to skip the first round, but tomorrow (Friday), the eighth-seeded squad will host ninth-seeded Francis Lewis High School at 5 p.m. as the second playoff round begins.

Friday's game is rematch of last season's second round playoff game, which the Lady Vikings lost to the Lady Patriots. Even though South Shore defeated Francis Lewis last month, head coach Anwar Gladden is not taking the team lightly.

"I'm never too confident," Gladden said. "I'm not looking past Francis Lewis. I'm taking it game by game."

South Shore greatly improved from last season when it finished with an 8-7 record. When asked about his team's improvement, Gladden attributed it to "maturity and growth. Last year, we started three freshmen. Now, they're sophomores with a season of experience that helped us get it three more wins."

The Lady Vikings are led by talented senior guard/forward Kamiel Brown, who averaged a team-high 17.6 points and 12.4 boards per game, and sophomore guard Angel Porter, who dished out 6.9 assists and added 13.7 points per game.

Gladden is relying on Brown to rise to the occasion, despite the added pressures of being a student athlete, and believes she wants to leave on a winning note.

"She has a lot of things on her plate," Gladden said, of Brown juggling school, sports, and family life. "But I expect her to focus on her last playoff run, and I know she wants to go out on top."

Gladden has been impressed with Porter's playmaking ability, and feels that she has a bright future as long as she continues to follow the guidance of South Shore's coaching staff.

"Angel has been carrying the responsibility of the point guard and she's been handling it real well," he said. "If she buys into the system, her talents will take her a long way. I'm looking forward to seeing her play as a junior."

Although Brown and Porter have been invaluable to the team, Gladden believes that the spirited play of sophomore guard Baytania Newman (15.5 ppg) could be the difference in the playoffs.

"Baytania gets up for big games," the fifth-year coach said. "She's the heart of the team. She rebounds, passes the ball, and has everyone on the team playing better."

South Shore won their last three games of the season, and is primed to keep that winning streak alive deep into the postseason.

"The girls are confident," Gladden said. "This is the most important time of the year for the girls, and we're ready for the playoffs."