Kayla Gilmore becomes Floyd's all-time leading scorer
Floyd guard Kayla Gilmore poses for a picture with her family after breaking the school record for points in a game against Whitman during a Suffolk League I game on Jan. at Floyd. Credit: George A Faella
Kayla Gilmore will be going on to play lacrosse on a full scholarship at Maryland, which has won five national championships since 2010. But lacrosse is far from her only skill.
Gilmore is also a standout soccer and basketball player, one of the best basketball players to come through the Floyd program.
She became the Floyd girls basketball program’s all-time leading scorer after making a three-pointer with 2:26 left in the first quarter of Floyd’s 45-38 home victory over Whitman on Jan. 6. Gilmore finished the game with nine points and currently has 1,203 points in her five years on varsity, surpassing Melissa D'Amico’s total of 1,185 points. D'Amico went on to play college basketball at Notre Dame and is the coach of Boston University’s women’s basketball team.
Gilmore passed the majority of the credit to her coaches and teammates for allowing her the opportunity and freedom to score all those points throughout the years. And that she passed someone who played and is coaching at a high level made it even more special for Gilmore.
“It’s definitely crazy,” Gilmore said. “There’s really no words to describe it, but we had a game to play. We didn’t stop the game and we did it at halftime and the main goal was to win. Whether I broke the record or not, that was all we wanted at the end of the day.”
“I couldn’t be happier for a kid,” coach Rich Sinclair said. “She’s so competitive, she works hard every day. Basketball is her 1A. If she wanted to play college basketball, she could. But she’s [one of the best lacrosse] recruits in the country and she’s going to Maryland on a full lacrosse scholarship, so we’re thrilled she was able to pass Melissa D'Amico."
Floyd held a quick ceremony for Gilmore at halftime for setting the program scoring record. She also has the program record for assists (248) and steals (481). Dominique Johnson had the previous records in assists (245) and steals (441), according to Sinclair.
The Floyd coach said he remembers Gilmore playing in the sixth grade and knew she was a special athlete. After spending five years as her varsity coach, he isn’t surprised about Gilmore’s modest approach to setting records.
“She’s going to be very humble about everything,” Sinclair said. “That’s just how she is. She is a once-in-a-generation talent. For her to do this is just something I think is a nice accumulation and culmination of her entire career here and what she’s meant to Floyd girls basketball.”
Cold Spring Harbor taking down larger schools
The Seahawks have shown no fear with their non-conference schedule despite having the lowest enrollment of Nassau Class A schools. Cold Spring Harbor, with an enrollment of 407, is 10 students above the new minimum threshold of 397 for Class A as the state public school athletic association's shuffled classification numbers with the introduction of Class AAA.
Yet, the Seahawks are off to a 12-3 start, which included a 56-37 win over Shoreham-Wading River, the defending Suffolk Class A champions, in the second game of the season. Cold Spring Harbor also handed Wantagh its first loss with a 52-50 win on Jan. 6. It’s been a balanced scoring effort for the Seahawks led by Cleo Dallaris (8.8 ppg), Ryan Reynolds (8.5 ppg) and Olivia Mulada (8.0 ppg).
St. Dominic's fast start
St. Dominic is off to a strong start to its CHSAA season, highlighted by a 46-41 victory over Sacred Heart on Jan. 3. St. Dominic only won one CHSAA game last season but multiple capable scorers have led to better success this year. Bella Franck had 15 points and Mia Padula added 10 points in the win over Sacred Heart.
