Nazareth girls meet bitter end
ALBANY — Sadie Edwards stood in the tunnel just off the court at the Times Union Center, struggling to hold back tears. The emotions she had dealt with all year long — eligibility issues, the impending closure of her school and the death of former Nazareth coach Apache Paschall — were pouring out.
Edwards was just one of the Lady Kingsmen who had tried for months to prove that despite all of the tribulations, they could still be a great team. The goal, set by Paschall at the start, was straightforward: win the Federation state championship.
The dream ended Saturday afternoon in an anti-climactic blowout: Nazareth lost, 80-55, to Cicero-north Syracuse in the Class AA semifinals. Cicero-north will play PSAL champ Murry Bergtraum in Sunday’s title game.
“I don’t know if everybody feels like this, (but) I feel like I let him down,” Edwards said of Paschall.
Speaking slowly, Edwards tried to put her feelings into words.
“Life’s about overcoming adversities, I guess,” she said. “(Why does) one team have to go through so much?”
Even with the disheartening loss that put an abrupt halt to Nazareth’s season, Lauren Best — who co-coaches the team with Ron Kelley — said she told her players in the lockerroom afterward that, “I love them and I’m proud of them.”
Asked if Nazareth’s season was a failure because it ended without a Federation title, Best said, “I don’t feel that this season was a failure because that would say my girls are failures, and they’re not failures.”
Cicero-north’s Breanna Stewart, ranked as the top girls prospect in the country by ESPN, led the Northstars with 42 points, setting the Federation Class AA record. She also had 23 rebounds and six blocks.
Stewart’s dominating play down low opened up the game for the rest of the Northstars, who hit 61% of their shots, including 60% from beyond the arc.
As the first quarter drew to a close, Stewart chucked up a shot from about threequarters of the way down the court. It went in, much to the delight of the upstate crowd.
Not only did the loss mark the end of the season for Nazareth, but it could also have been the school’s final basketball game.
In February, Nazareth announced it would close its doors at the end of the school year, but there is still a chance that won’t happen. Fundraising efforts are ongoing, and school principal Providencia Quiles told The News that if certain financial and enrollment goals are met by April 15, the school could survive.