Prep Charter earns Pub's AAA title

The scene was unfamiliar for Paul Reiser as he spoke to his girls' basketball team inside the cramped Ben Franklin High locker room.

For the first time this season, Prep Charter failed to hold a halftime lead over a Public League foe, as the Huskies trailed by a point Friday to Freire Charter.

He thought his team was playing out of desperation, as he asked, "Why are you playing like you're down 10, when you're down one?"

In the second half, Prep Charter emerged with a sense of balance and focus en route to capturing its fifth straight Public League Class AAA crown, 62-52.

Prep Charter (22-3 overall) had finished its regular league season with a 12-0 record and an average winning margin of 40.9 points. Freire (16-7 overall) was the only league team to get within 40 points of the Huskies, as the Dragons fell earlier this month by 13.

"I don't want this to sound arrogant: We just outwork everybody," Reiser said. "We practice every day. We practice on Saturdays. We do everything we need to do."

The Huskies are two wins from repeating as overall Public League champions, and they'll meet Engineering & Science on Wednesday night at Southern.

Kahleah Copper, a McDonald's All-American and Rutgers recruit, is one of five Prep Charter seniors expected to play college basketball.

But Friday, it was sophomore Hannah Timmons who helped secure the win.

After spending most of the first half on the bench, Timmons regrouped to score nine of her 12 points in the fourth quarter.

"We needed that spark off the bench," Copper said. "Hannah definitely comes off the bench hard."

Timmons opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer to hand the Huskies a 45-37 lead and help create separation from a feisty Freire team.

Later, she absorbed a foul and sank a crucial layup to increase the lead to 11.

Timmons landed on the bench after Reiser said he thought she wasn't hustling enough. In the fourth quarter, he turned to her and asked if she was ready.

"It's all about attitude, and she helped us win," Reiser said. "It's discipline, structure. If you don't do it, you're not playing."

Copper started slowly before scoring 11 of her team-high 14 points in the second half. The senior grabbed 13 rebounds but said she was playing off the ball too much and needed to be more aggressive.

Rutgers head coach C. Vivian Stringer sat courtside with Copper's mother, Leticia.

Freire was led by the flashy guard combination of Taryn Vinson and Chantal Thomas.

Their aggressiveness seemed to be troublesome at times for the Huskies, as both consistently hit the deck for loose balls and seemed to emphatically celebrate each made basket.

The two captains helped the Dragons inch ahead briefly in the third quarter, as Thomas found Vinson down low for a three-point play.

Copper quickly answered with a baseline jumper and Prep Charter ended the quarter on a 7-0 run to start the fourth ahead 42-37.

Prep Charter   12151520-62

Freire Charter   721915-52

PC: India Cauley 9, Kahleah Copper 14, Ciana Cryor 8, Destiny Murray 4, Ciera Nimmons 11, Ericka Sowell 2, A.J. Timbers 2, Hannah Timmons 12.

FC: Markesha Griffin 2, Latisha Johnson 5, Chantal Thomas 15, Taryn Vinson 9, Chelsea Woods 21.