PARK SLOPE, BK-Courage was on display at the BC Athletic Center this afternoon. Coach Morgan Sevigny’s Lady Lions fought tooth and nail to the buzzer before being edged by Evangel Christian 35-33 on their home court in Park Slope.

Minus offensive leader Keyanka Bailey who took warm ups but still wasn’t cleared, the Berkeley Carroll Varsity ladies started jittery but got stronger- adjusting to life without their junior forward. They struggled early with a full court press that forced turnovers, allowing the visitors to go in front 11-8 after one quarter.

Some pesky defensive play from theft artist Olivia Wilson provided a spark in what wasn’t the prettiest game, featuring plenty of loose scrambles and a coach’s biggest headache. Turnovers. Despite the chaos, Sevigny’s feisty club stayed within reach at the half thanks to a timely trey from senior leader Tess Salvatore. First-year starter Sarah Paller also hit from downtown, allowing the Lady Lions to regroup.

Whatever Sevigny and new assistant Manny said worked as BC came out clicking on all cylinders, running off the first seven including another Salvatore trifecta to surge ahead 20-19. Defensively, the guard made some excellent reads as did freshman Morgo Miller with each anticipating Evangel Christian passes for easy steals. In fact, their suddenly bewildered opponent only made one field goal in a third controlled by the hosts.

Entering the final quarter, it was up for grabs with both teams knotted at 21. While the visitors lost one of their starters due to fouls, Sevigny’s crew also saw Wilson go down hard after colliding with Evangel Christian’s biggest player for a rebound. Unfortunately, she hurt her wrist and was helped off the court by BC staff, ending the day with four points and probably double digits in steals.

Down to just five, the Lady Lions showed tenacity continuing to stay right with their deeper foe. In particular, Miller shined scoring three big baskets in the quarter, including one from downtown. Paller also had a couple of steals going coast to coast igniting a crowd which included passionate Dad, Walter Paller who was with the team every step of the way.

A couple of mad dashes led to each team wisely using timeouts, keeping possession. One such instance saw the heady Salvatore dive for a loose ball and quickly call for time.

As the contest hung in the balance, one of Evangel Christian’s guards hit a huge triple putting her team back ahead 30-28 with two and change to play. With both teams in the penalty, free throws became critical. Following a couple of empty BC possessions, Christian went up four on a hoop with 54.8 seconds left. But as they had all day, the Lady Lions fought back thanks to a pair from the charity stripe from Gianni LaTange, who banked both in. Much to scorekeeper Lawrence’s dismay, she didn’t call glass.

That didn’t matter because it sliced the deficit to 32-30 allowing the desperate Lady Lions to set up a press, which worked to perfection. A quick steal and Miller bucket suddenly tied it with Bailey and Wilson leading the cheers from the bench. Unfortunately, an overaggressive Miller fouled on the inbounds, putting the road team on the line where they split a pair for a 33-32 lead.

Sevigny used a timeout to set up a play. Amazingly, this time their opponents fouled Salvatore, who sank the first to tie but rimmed out the second allowing Evangel Christian to call for time. Off it, they got inside drawing contact. Another split put them back in front 34-33, forcing BC to burn its final timeout.

With Evangel Christian pressing, Miller got the ball and frantically went up the court launching from 35, drawing nothing. In spite of the quick shot, there were still 12.6 seconds remaining giving BC a chance to foul which they did with eight left. Once again, the guests went 1-for-2 increasing to 35-33. The problem was off a missed second, they beat the Lady Lions to rebounds missing a couple of close shots as time expired.

Miller paced BC with what likely is a career best 10 while Paller chipped in with eight and Salvatore added seven. It was BC’s second consecutive loss but unlike the last at Martin Luther, Coach Sevigny was a little more pleased with the effort. The Lady Lions return to action Thursday.

Both the JV and Varsity Boys visit Packer tomorrow with the Varsity tipping off first at 4 PM in Brooklyn Heights.