CAVALCANTE REACHES MILESTONE

STEPHEN J. HAYNES

STAFF WRITER

Jaclyn Cavalcante scored her 1000^th career point in the Bridges’ Feb. 23 playoff loss to John Jay.

The team captain scored 27 points in the game and received an ovation from the City College crowd, but bittersweet was the moment as it was the one scintilla of positive to be extracted from the 77-63 defeat.

“It’s a great accomplishment and I’m happy I was able to do it in my junior year,” said Cavalcante, who joins Sheila Zephir (1997-01) as the only Brooklyn College women to reach that plateau. “But at the same time, it hurt because it was our last game and we lost.”

Nonetheless, it stands as the crowning achievement in her collegiate career to this point, as she’s managed to thrive as a 5-foot-4 shooting guard while coping with several injuries.

This season, she played all 25 games and was the team’s second leading scorer, despite suffering from shin splints.

“I guess it was from gradual wear and tear,” she said. “I had a lot of pain, but I wasn’t focused on it. I didn’t think about it while playing. My concern was winning. I’ve played through pain my whole life so it wasn’t new to me. Just another thing to overcome.”

The Marine Park native, who began playing basketball in her church league as a 7-year-old, said that her injuries on the court go as far back as the fifth grade when she broke her kneecap. In high school, she required knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus and has played with torn ligaments in her ankle.

“One of the games that I went to see when she was in high school, you could tell she wasn’t right,” said coach Alex Lang of her Willis Reed-like performance in a PSAL playoff game. “She had the torn meniscus and was limping up and down the court. But she knocked down three [3-pointers] and gave her team a lead before they took her out.”

Lang added that her was her intrepidness stood out to him. Despite being the shortest player on the court, she wasn’t afraid to demand the ball and take big shots.

“A couple of her teammates went to Division I schools (including Justine Paxhia, who now stars at St. Francis) so it wasn’t as if she was telling bums to give her the ball. And they respected her. By her senior year, she was the go-to player.”

Cavalcante, whose laidback demeanor belies her on-court zeal, said that she transforms into a “different person” during games. The fire and irascibility, she said, are traits from her mother, who attends all the home games.

“In terms of personality, me and my mom are like twins,” she said with a chuckle. “She doesn’t know that much about basketball and the things she says don’t always make sense, but she gets excited. She’s the one person who comes to all my games.

Throughout my whole childhood, support wise, I loved her being there.”

Cavalcante, who has been somewhat the team’s focal point since donning the uniform, said that she now embraces her role as team leader.

As a freshman, she led the team in scoring, was fifth in the conference in points per game (14.8) and fourth in 3-point percentage. In her sophomore year, she was named a second-team CUNYAC All-Star.

“But as a person, I think I’ve matured from freshman year to now,” said Cavalcante, who was named Student-Athlete of the Month in January. “As captain, I now have to be, not a role model, but a leader on the court at all times. I can’t lose my cool and act up and then expect teammates not to think it’s OK for them to do it. It’s made me learn to be more composed.”

Her leadership style, as she described it, befits her playing style.

“I’m definitely vocal,” she said. “I think as a leader, you have to be. I have to set good examples and when I see something wrong, I’m going to point it out and make sure everyone knows our goals.”

And when her team struggles, she believes that it’s up to her to spark the rally. In the second half against the Bloodhounds, with her team down 20 with just over 12 minutes left, she erupted for 15 points, including a 7-0 run that kept the Bridges in the game.

And with 17 seconds left in their season, Cavalcante swished an off-balance jumper from the right corner to entrench herself in BC athletic lore.