Thursday, October 1, 2026
Elmont led by nine points in the first half but trailed Sewanhaka by as many as five in the fourth quarter of a wild Nassau Conference AA-3 girls’ basketball battle that was seconds away from overtime Dec. 16.
But Kayla Latiff made sure the neighborhood rivalry was settled in regulation.
The senior point guard swished a three-pointer from the corner with 1.6 seconds remaining to lift the Spartans to a 47-44 road victory. The winning shot, which came moments after Sewanhaka senior Lilah Lopez banked home a tying trey over the outstretched Latiff, capped a frantic back-and-forth final quarter.
“It felt good when I released it,” Latiff said of the winning basket. “I took a lot of shots today. I missed some and made some. I’m so glad that last one went in. It was exciting.”
Latiff finished with a team-high 18 points and eighth-grader Laila Edwards added 8 for Elmont, which bounced back from a conference-opening defeat to South Side.
“Whenever we play Sewanhaka, there’s always a lot of energy but also a lot of nervousness,” Elmont head coach Pete Lawson said. “I never know what to expect in the first half and today was a little sloppy. Once we got the nerves out, we played much better.”
Lopez poured in a game-high 19 points and junior Lexi Stewart added 14 for Sewanhaka, which played without sophomore center Gabby Brown due to illness. Stewart hit for 26 in its conference-opening victory over Clarke.
“My hat is off to number 12 [Latiff] for hitting a humungous shot moments after Lilah hit a big shot to tie it,” Sewanhaka head coach Alex Soupios said. “We got some good performances to build off. Five threes by Lilah in the second half; [senior point guard] Temia Williams is just a warrior for us. And some young kids gave us solid minutes.”
A slow opening quarter ended with the Spartans leading 8-6. Junior Louis Desir Jeane gave the visitors the largest lead for either team at 17-8 midway through the second with a layup before the Ravens clawed back. Stewart’s trey just before the halftime buzzer cut the margin to 19-15.
Both offenses started to click in the third quarter and the teams combined for 29 points after totaling just 34 through the first 16 minutes.
Eight of Latiff’s points came in the third and sophomore Essence Saunds, who had a strong game in the paint with 14 rebounds, added four of her six points as Elmont increased its lead to 31-25 before Sewanhaka exploded for 15 of the next 19 to surge ahead 40-35 midway through the fourth.
Eighth-grader Lacey Lopez, Lilah’s younger sister, capped the third with a basket and Lilah opened the fourth with back-to-back threes. Stewart had six points during the run, but Latiff had the final say.
“Kayla has ice water in her veins,” Lawson said of Latiff. “She’s been on varsity three years now and is no stranger to taking big shots. I encourage her to shoot and be aggressive.”
The teams meet again Jan. 27 at Elmont at 4:30 p.m.
