Bronx, NY - Jan 23, 2010: St. Anthony's High School...

Bronx, NY - Jan 23, 2010: St. Anthony's High School freshman #14 Maggie Bill dives for a loose ball in the first half of a varsity girls basketball tournament game vs. Medgar Evers Prep (Brooklyn) at the In-Tech Academy. A vehicular accident that occured Thursday, Jan 21 injured multiple St. Anthony's players, including four of its five starters. Despite the adversity, they defeated Medgar Evers Prep by a score of 52-42. (photo by James A. Escher) Credit: James A. Escher / Freelance/Photo by James A. Escher

Two days after four starters on the St. Anthony's girls basketball team were injured in a car accident Thursday afternoon, the Friars took the court Saturday for the first time since the accident and - using two sophomores and four freshmen - beat Middle College, 52-42, in the Kennedy Classic at In-Tech Academy in the Bronx.

The four players were passengers in a car driven by a classmate and were on the way back to St. Anthony's after getting food before practice. The car was heading south on Route 110 and was making a left on Wolf Hill Road when it was struck by another vehicle coming from the south, according to Friars coach Ken Parham. A police report was unavailable yesterday.

All of the passengers in the car were taken by ambulance to the hospital; three went to Plainview Hospital and two went to Huntington Hospital, Parham said. He said Kerrin Maurer suffered a fractured ankle and two hip fractures; Brianna Harris has a separated shoulder and needed stitches; Micky Impellizeri needed stitches in several areas, and Symone Kelly suffered what appeared to be a minor back injury, the coach said.

Carolyn Lizza also missed yesterday's game with an illness.

Johanna Impellizeri had 13 points and 14 rebounds, Jennifer Sixsmith had 12 points and 12 rebounds and Rebecca Musgrove - the lone regular starter - had 12 points and six assists for St. Anthony's (13-2). Shannon White had eight points, Maggie Bill seven and Sydney Sodine played limited minutes as a reserve.

"My sister [Micky] is OK,'' Johanna Impellizeri said. "She's just banged up and sore. It's nothing too serious.''

The Friars spent Friday visiting their teammates at the two hospitals. All of them are out of the hospital except Maurer. "We have all been freaked about it since then,'' Sixsmith said. "We pulled through it. Everyone tried to step up and I think it worked.''

Added Johanna Impellizeri: "It's hard knowing half the team wasn't here. We're staying in touch with them and hope they get better soon. We were tired, but we came through. It feels really good knowing we can do that with all underclassmen.''

After the first few minutes of the game, St. Anthony's led the rest of the way. White scored six of her points in a 19-6 first quarter. A 7-0 run gave the Friars a 38-29 lead in the third quarter.

"It has been rough,'' Musgrove said. "We were upset and visited them and they're doing fine. I knew it would be tougher without them. We had to run the plays differently, but we did it.''

Said Parham: "During this whole situation, the kids have done a great job bonding. St. Anthony's has done a great job giving us support. All the families have come together. They're all home resting and we just want them to recover.''

From Love Lane in Mattituck, NewsdayTV's Elisa DiStefano and Newsday deputy lifestyle editor Meghan Giannotta have your look at ways to celebrate Valentine's Day this year. Credit: Randee Daddona, Gary Licker; Newsday / A.J. Singh

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From Love Lane in Mattituck, NewsdayTV's Elisa DiStefano and Newsday deputy lifestyle editor Meghan Giannotta have your look at ways to celebrate Valentine's Day this year. Credit: Randee Daddona, Gary Licker; Newsday / A.J. Singh

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