Elmont's perfection ends in semifinals

Lady Spartans finish a dazzling 17-1

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Elmont’s hopes of continuing its surprising perfect season were dashed early in last Saturday night’s Nassau Class AA girls’ basketball semifinal when it fell behind No. 2 Massapequa by 14 points.

The third-seeded Lady Spartans cut into the deficit and played the Lady Chiefs evenly the rest of the way but never fully recovered in a 61-45 defeat at LIU-Post. Junior Melanie Hingher had 27 points and 14 rebounds, and senior Meghan McCabe added 15 points to lead Massapequa, which advanced to face top-seeded and defending county champion Baldwin in the title game this Saturday at Post at 7 p.m.

Elmont, which finished 17-1 overall and eliminated a solid Oceanside squad in the quarterfinals, got 11 points apiece from freshmen Kem Nwabudu and Zhaneia Thybulle, and 10 from senior Monique Joseph.

“It was a terrific season,” Elmont head coach Tom Magno said. “I thought we’d have a chance to be pretty good, but I wasn’t expecting to do as well as we did. I’m very pleased. The girls did a tremendous job.

“Massapequa is a pretty big team and has a lot of playoff experience,” he added. “They went to the finals last year and won it all the year before. This was a new experience for us.”

Joseph’s final basket of her career completed quite an accomplishment, Magno said. She scored in double figures in all 18 games and was a model of consistency throughout the campaign with only two 20-point performances. She also led Elmont, which went undefeated in capturing the Conference A-III crown, in steals. Her season high of 28 points came in a win over Calhoun in the regular-season finale. “It’s remarkable she scored at least 10 in every game since we were a balanced team,” he said. “Monique was our heart and soul.”

Joseph, Nwabudu and Thybulle helped the Lady Spartans inch their way back, cutting Massapequa’s lead to 11 by halftime. 

“The two freshmen that started for us really adapted well to everything,” said Magno, referring to Nwabudu (14.6 points per game average) and Thybulle (7.0 ppg.) “They were the biggest reasons our JV went undefeated last season, and they came up to varsity and didn’t miss a beat,” he added. “They became so good, so quickly.

“Kem has developed an outside game and takes a lot of pride in playing defense,” Magno continued. “There were a few times this year she approached me and asked if she can guard the other team’s best player.

“Zhaneia began the season at shooting guard but gradually became the point,” he said. “She’s super quick and has a great feel for the game.”

Seniors Arielle Pierre (7.5 ppg) and Noelle Dixon (6.0 ppg, 6.0 rebounds) were also keys to Elmont’s success. Dixon had six points and 10 rebounds in the 48-40 playoff win over sixth-seeded Oceanside on Feb. 18. Nwabudu poured in 21 and Joseph chipped in 13.

“Oceanside put up a really good fight,” Magno said. “It was a nice win to grind out.”