Elmont keeps it close but falls in state Class A final
Jamesville-DeWitt's Meg Hair and Jamie Boeheim defend against Elmont's Kem Nwabudu in the state Class A girls basketball final Saturday night. Credit: Hans Pennink
TROY, N.Y. — Tom Magno’s gaze was distant, transfixed on the court on which his Elmont girls basketball team had just played its final game.
The Spartans’ state championship hopes had been dashed, although they hung close with a team that beat them by 28 points in last year’s state semifinals.
Kem Nwabudu had 20 points and Zhaneia Thybulle and Gigi Faison added 12 each, but Syracuse’s Jamesville-DeWitt captured the state Class A title with a 64-51 win at Hudson Valley CC Saturday night.
Magno succinctly summed up the careers of his seniors — Nwabudu, Thybulle, Jada Fernandez, Zarria Franklin and Chiamaka Ubani.
“It’s like a once-in-a-career group of kids as a coach,” he said, his voice wavering.
Nwabudu’s three-pointer from the right wing cut Elmont’s deficit to four points at 49-45 with 5:10 left in the game. Jamesville responded with layups by Momo LaClair and Meg Hair on consecutive possessions, pushing the lead back to eight at 53-45 and halting the comeback.
Sophomore Gabby Stickle took over in the third quarter for Jamesville, shooting 4-for-5 from three-point range and scoring her team’s first 12 points of the quarter.
Faison had a couple of baskets and Nwabudu completed a three-point play during Stickle’s shooting display, but the hot shooting was enough for Jamesville to build a 42-31 lead with 2:48 left in the third quarter.
Elmont (23-3) cut into the lead with a 5-0 burst, but LaClair drove baseline and hit a floater from the right side to give Jamesville a 44-36 lead after three quarters.
“I’m so proud of my team,” said Nwabudu, whose Spartans fell to Jamesville, 70-42, a year ago. “Just getting past the first game, that was an automatic improvement.”
The Spartans couldn’t get their transition game kick-started, so they found themselves playing from behind after the game’s first basket, a layup by Jamie Boeheim, daughter of Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim.
“We weren’t able to get much offense out of our defense,” Magno said. “Their guards were good. We couldn’t really turn them over.”
Elmont has mostly dominated the last two years, going 40-0 against Long Island competition. Thanks to this group of seniors, Elmont enjoyed four years of sustained success.
“We didn’t quite get it done tonight, but they’ve been just a pleasure to work with,” Magno said. “Everybody’s unselfish. A lot of fun to be around.”
