Thursday, October 1, 2026
It took all of three seconds for No. 1 Elmont to set the tone in its convincing 68-41 victory over No. 5 Cold Spring Harbor in its Nassau Class A semifinal matchup at the Clark Center on the campus of SUNY Old Westbury last Saturday afternoon.
A perfect tap of the jump ball by Kem Nwabudu, a catch and pass by Gigi Faison, and a driving finish by Zhaneia Thybulle gave the Lady Spartans the game’s first two points, and the defending Long Island champions were off and running.
The layup by Thybulle not only gave the Lady Seahawks an idea of what they were going to be seeing a lot of, it served notice that no team shares the basketball quite like Elmont. Thybulle went on the score 23 points while registering four assists to lead the Lady Spartans to the county championship game for the third straight season.
Elmont, which improved to 20-2, will have a repeat matchup with No. 3 North Shore this Saturday morning at 11 at Old Westbury. The Lady Spartans knocked off North Shore by a score of 50-49 in last year’s title game. North Shore (20-1) advanced with a 69-44 victory over No. 7 Wantagh.
Thybulle, who scored eight of the team’s points in a 17-7 first quarter, had her way all afternoon. She’s looking forward to playing in the finals. “I have the green light to go to the basket, so if I see an opening in the defense I’m going to take advantage of it,” Thybulle said. “As a team, everyone has the same mindset. We’re driven. We’re focused on getting back to where we were a year ago.”
Five players scored for Elmont in the second quarter. Faison put up six points and dished out three assists as the Lady Spartans opened up a commanding 37-19 lead at the break.
While Thybulle, Nwabudu (nine points, 13 rebounds), and Faison get much of the accolades, one player who tends to fly under the radar is senior Jada Fernandez, who scored 19 points. Fernandez carries herself as the consummate team player, and always seems to be in the right place at the right time.
Despite averaging 11 points per game and almost always drawing the task of defending the opponent’s best offensive threat, Fernandez doesn’t find her name in headlines all that often. She doesn’t mind being overlooked.
“When teams are trying to shut down our top scorers, someone else has to step up. I choose to step up,” Fernandez said. “I came in looking to attack the seams and the open spaces in their zone today. It’s never about one player. We share the ball.”
