Cardozo Girls Bested By Abraham Lincoln's Lady Rail Splitters

The Cardozo girls basketball team is experiencing some varsity blues this season, with little hope of a Hollywood-style happy ending on the horizon.

The Lady Judges fell 63-34 to the Abraham Lincoln Lady Rail Splitters, losing their sixth straight game Friday night in Coney Island. After starting the season 2-0, Cardozo’s record has dropped to 2-6 overall.

“It’s very tough because we’re playing teams of high caliber. Tonight they were bigger, stronger, faster and better shooters,” Lady Judges coach Vinny O’Donoghue said. “I have to give my team a lot of credit. They show spunk, they don’t give up. They work hard every single play.”

The Lady Judges matched up well with Lincoln throughout the first quarter. Freshman Daomi Burch swished a long three-pointer after Cardozo fell behind 3-0, but Lincoln answered back on the next possession with their own three. Although the Lady Judges played a poised first quarter, they finished it down 12-5.

Led by junior forward Erica Juarbe, Lincoln carried a 10-0 run into the second quarter that created a deficit that the Lady Judges couldn’t break. Cardozo guards Gariella Valdes and Crystal Roldan each contributed steals and turnovers with solid defense and communication.

The Lady Judges played their best basketball of the game in the second quarter, but Lincoln led 27-13 at halftime.

“We’ve got a lot of character and it showed early in the game,” O’Donoghue said. “They come back and play hard every game even when the scores are not close.”

The Lady Judges may have taken their biggest loss of the season when point guard Gabriella Valdes fell while making a play nearly out of bounds. The sophomore hit the floor and slid into the side of the mini bleachers and was left with a bloody gash on her right thigh. By the end of the third quarter the Lady Judges were down 45-24.

“Hopefully she won’t be gone too long or at all and it’s more of a scratch, but it was scary for a second,” O’Donoghue said. “It was like a big gash.” 

Without Valdes, O’Donoghue tried to got many of his players involved as the Lincoln squad built their lead. Burch, a freshman, showed confidence with the ball and had five points in the fourth quarter. Shaquella Figueroa finished the game with 25 points as Lincoln improved to 5-3.

“We didn’t give up because we realize that it takes a team effort,” said Burch, who matched Valdes' 12 points in the loss. “We lost one of our valuable players, but it’s not a one man team, we all have to play well.”