Jada Fernandez, Elmont anxious for more after winning Nassau A title
The celebration was subdued. There were plenty of smiles, but the trophy presentation didn’t have the cheers and chants generally associated with a county title.
That’s because the top-seeded Elmont girls basketball team has its sights set on much more than the Nassau Class A crown, which it claimed Saturday with a 75-44 win over No. 3 North Shore at Farmingdale State.
“We’re ready for more,” said guard Jada Fernandez, who led all scorers with 24 points. “We’re ready to go to states. That’s our goal.”
The Spartans first must get past Hauppauge in a Long Island championship at 5 p.m. on March 8 at SCCC-Brentwood, but Elmont remains confident.
“We have a goal in mind, and we’re not stopping until we get that goal,” said Zhaneia Thybulle, who cut through the defense for 22 points and added five assists and four steals for good measure.
Thybulle assisted Kem Nwabudu (13 points) in transition for Elmont’s largest lead at 68-35 with 5:20 remaining. Elmont’s transition game caused fits for North Shore (20-2), which struggled to combat a tough press defense.
Gabrielle Zaffiro still scored 22 points, finishing her six-year career with 2,644 points, second all-time on Long Island behind Bethany LeSueur’s 3,167 for Garden City. Zaffiro will play for Division III powerhouse Amherst next year.
Fernandez was tasked with guarding Zaffiro early, though other guards chipped in to hold the long-range threat to just one three-pointer.
“At first, I focused on defense because I had to guard their best player, as usual,” Fernandez said. “I tried to make her make mistakes. On offense, I noticed they were guarding our best players, so I took advantage of it and went to the basket.”
Fernandez was tough to stop, scoring five straight at the close of the third quarter to give Elmont (21-2) a 57-28 lead. Fernandez slashed her way to the basket and finished in traffic, scoring a flashy layup in the fourth quarter on a ball fake and finish with her right hand.
Elmont lost in last year’s state Class A semifinal to Jamesville-DeWitt, 70-42. This year’s team is virtually the same, both in its roster and in its game plan, so Thybulle is confident in a better outcome.
“It definitely made us more mature and more composed last year,” she said. “Everybody has definitely grown since last year, and it shows in our game.”
Their game was as composed as their low-key celebration. They’re saving up for the state’s biggest stage.
