Malverne aims for improved second half

The Malverne girls’ basketball team has struggled out of gate to start the 2023-24 campaign, but the return of one of their top players could soon change their fortunes for the better.
After splitting their first four games, the Mules found themselves mired in a five-game losing streak before a 25-21 win over Friends Academy on Jan. 4. The score may look ugly, but Malverne head coach Amanda Masson will gladly take it.
“It was very important, especially for their confidence,” she said. “I felt like their confidence was going down, but it’s just all about experience.”
Malverne had the only basket of the first quarter and used a strong third quarter to position itself for the win. Junior Hazel Whitfield finished with eight points and senior Mikayla Johnson drilled a key 3-pointer at the buzzer to end the third.
Unfortunately, the good vibes didn’t carry over as the Mules dropped a 34-29 decision at Wheatley last Saturday to fall to 3-8, a game that Masson is hoping will serve as “a wakeup call” for her team.

“We have more underclassmen than upperclassmen,” Masson said before the Wheatley game. “It’s a lot of just getting them ready to help the upperclassmen when they are tired.”
The Mules have been without Jahairah Arnoux (sprained ankle) for most of the season and the senior guard finally returned to the lineup on Dec. 27. Arnoux averaged almost eight points a game last year and her absence was strongly felt on the floor.
“That was a big loss for us,” Masson.said. “She’s a facilitator and she’s a second voice on that court.”
The offense was scoring almost 40 points a game in Arnoux’s absence, with four players averaging at least eight a contest entering the Friends game. Senior Ayanna Simpson was leading the way at 10.5 and junior Ty’Zanae Reed was a shade below 10, while eighth grader Kaya Hamilton (9.4) and Johnson (8.4) not far behind.
“We’re doing better,” Masson said of the offense. “We have Jahairah Arnoux back. She’s getting used to everything, but overall, our offense is OK. It’s just sometimes shots are not falling in, but we’re getting through that.”
Masson was hoping before the season that Reed would improve offensively and the fill-in for Arnoux has done just that. Reed, who averaged six points a year ago, had a season-high 14 in games against Roosevelt and North Shore last month and has five double-digit point efforts this season while adjusting to an unfamiliar role.
“I’m very proud of her,” Masson said. “We put her in a point guard position when Jahairah got hurt. It was hard for her. It was a lot of learning for her, but she pretty much owned it.”
The 21 points allowed against Friends were easily the lowest of the year and the 34 at Wheatley was the third fewest. Those efforts lowered the season average to just under 46 a game.
Malverne will finish a three-game homestand against Island Trees on Saturday and Seaford on Jan. 17.