Gremlins Take the Barclays Center
Once again, this is a year of firsts for Grace Church. This is the first year of having seniors play on sports teams and the debut of the new Cheerleading club. On Monday, November 23rd, the majority of Grace Church high school gathered at the Barclays Center to cheer on the varsity girls and boys basketball teams and Grace’s newest addition, the cheerleading club. The boy’s varsity team put up a great fight, yet were out scored in the end with a final score of 51-54. The girl’s varsity team were victorious over Sacred Heart with a final score of 33-16.
The first game we saw was the boys’ game. Starting the game was point guard Marco Barosi ‘18, shooting guard Matthew Solomon ‘17, small forward Manny Balbontin ‘16, power forward Davis Colley ‘18, and center Jack Pryor ‘17. The boys were in the lead in a strong first half with the halftime buzzer going off at 38-27.
Some highlights from the game include Jack Pickard ‘18 scoring four 3-pointers. Malcolm Gibson ‘19 provided a spark off the bench with seven points in the first half. Both Malcolm and Jack Pickard proved to the audience that you do not need height to play good defense and score. Charlie Tiedemann had many rebounds and used his height to his advantage, giving him 12 points. In addition, Matthew Solomon ran many different plays throughout the game, resulting in success for the team. Will Simotas ‘19 provided the team with a lot of energy and kept spirits high. Miles Davis-Bosch ‘17 rushed down the court, providing both great offense and defense. Ziggy Knight ‘16 showed intense hustle on the court throughout the game, while providing aggressive defense. Francis Pacia ‘17 contributed with many rebounds. Last but not least, Elijah Young ‘18 showed extreme focus throughout the day with his head in the game and did not let the shots he missed hold him back and remained with the same intensity. During timeouts, the boys stood in a huddle, in deep focus, going over their next plays.
The loss has given them specific skills and tactics the team now knows to work on for the rest of the *knock on wood* successful season. Although it was a very close loss, everyone clearly saw the devotion and passion the boys have for basketball.
Following the exciting boys game, the girls’ Varsity team were next up to finish the double header versus Sacred Heart. To start the game, Grace had Angelika Rodriguez ‘18 starting as point guard, Ayanna Dublin ‘16 starting at forward, Jade Hui ‘16 as guard, Camille Olivierre ‘16 as forward, and Neah Grey ‘16 as center.
From the first to the last buzzer, the girls team were on top. The whole crowd could see the hustle and energy in every girl and the chemistry between the players made for an explosive offense. Every girl contributed to the team’s win. Mickey Abernathy ‘16 shot the ball consistently and with accuracy, racking up points. Ayanna Dublin ‘16 was aggressive on defense, and was able to switch well from offense to defense, in addition she was constantly seen driving to the basket on offensive breaks. Begonia El Koury ‘18 hustled up and down the court consistently and was very concentrated. Neah Grey ‘16 had a great defensive presence, grabbing the rebounds and putting them back up. Camille Olivierre ‘16 also made sure to grab the rebounds, and was tough on defense, keeping Sacred Heart’s scoring low. Jade Hui ‘16 shot the ball well, and did not let the defense get in her way. Jane Platt ‘18 rushed up and down the court, never slowing down. Lastly, the team would not be complete without Angelika Rodriguez ‘18, who was extremely versatile, playing tenacious defense, and taking the ball quickly up on offense.
In the end, the girls team prevailed with the win over Sacred Heart, the end score coming out to 33-16. Although there were not many returning players from last year’s girls varsity team, the girls have got to know each other and learned to play together smoothly in short time. Though this was one of first games of the season, the team looked like they had been playing together for much longer. The chemistry was there, leading from start to finish.
This year is the first year ever that GCS has had our very own cheerleading team. The club was started by Paloma Green ‘16 and Charlotte Abernathy ‘18, and lead by Dana Foote and Ryann Supple, the cheer team has evolved into its own. Throughout the fall, the cheer team of Ava DuPont ‘18, Millie Novak ‘18, Paloma Green, Grace Richardson ‘16, Julia Sebastia-Lopez ‘18, Sasha Herman ‘17, Kit Keenan ‘17, Charlotte Abernathy, Tenzin Kusang ‘17, and Zoe Pratt ‘17, practiced every week and had special guests come in to mentor, including a professional Brooklynette, who taught the girls some special tips, tricks, and routines.
The Barclays Center game was the cheer team’s official debut and their hard work clearly paid off! Throughout both of the games, the cheer team, clad in Grace-colored shirts and skirts, kept the spirit up in the stadium and the whole crowd engaged. They belted out chants and supported the players all through the game, keeping the players and spectators in high spirits. During half time, the cheer team performed a dance to “Sorry” by Justin Bieber, with the whole team in sync, never missing a beat. With the music pulsing through the stadium, the adrenaline from the game, and the cheer team showing off their moves, the whole crowd was captivated.
It was fantastic to see so many people from the Grace community coming out to Brooklyn and sharing school spirit. The Grace varsity basketball team had the honor of warming up the court for Louisiana State University and Marquette University, both Division 1 schools. In addition, Brook Lopez, starting center for the Brooklyn Nets, watched both games with enthusiasm. The Barclays Center games were a fabulous way to kick off the basketball season. Best of luck to both teams and the cheerleaders! Check out the following video for pictures and exclusive interviews with team members.