Friday, October 2, 2026
For the second consecutive basketball season, the Elmont Lady Spartans entered the playoffs as undefeated conference champions, and for the second straight year, the team fell a little short of a county title.
Senior Kaela Hilaire scored a game-high 37 points and dished out seven assists to lead No. 2 Floral Park to a 60-49 victory over No. 1 Elmont in the Nassau Class A Championship Game at Adelphi University last Saturday afternoon. It was the first county title for the Lady Knights since 2009, and fifth in program history.
Freshman Gigi Faison and sophomore Nkem Nwabudu each scored 14 points for the Lady Spartans, who came into the game riding a 17-game winning streak. Elmont finished at 21-2. Floral Park (22-1) will play Islip for the Long Island title. MaryKate Guerriero scored 10 points and pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds for the Lady Knights.
After trailing by as many as 17 points midway through the third quarter, the Lady Spartans caught fire. A 12-foot jumper by Nwabudu capped off a 20-7 run and got Elmont within 45-41 with 6:30 to play in the game.
But, the Lady Spartans wouldn’t get closer. After threes from Hilaire and Guerriero gave the Lady Knights some breathing room, Hilaire drove through the Elmont defense, ran into traffic, and delivered a sensational behind-the-back pass to junior Faith Balletta for an easy two and a commanding 55-45 lead with 1:39 to play.
Elmont head coach Tom Magno knows his team left it all on the court. “We were a little jittery early on, turned the ball over, and we were getting out-quicked,” Magno said. “Once we settled down, we played them pretty much even. I’m real proud of the girls.”
Things didn’t look rosy for the Lady Spartans in the early going. After Nwabudu hit a corner jumper to open the scoring, Floral Park got on a roll and couldn’t be stopped. The Lady Knights scored the next 16 points to take a 14-point lead after eight minutes.
Elmont found its stride in the second quarter. Junior Kiera Holland scored all six of her points in the quarter, all coming off assists from sophomore Zhaneia Thybulle, the team’s leading scorer. Thybulle, who finished with 10 points, dished out seven assists for the Lady Spartans.
The road to the finals was a tough one for Elmont. After handling Glen Cove with relative ease, the team had a tough time getting past No. 8 Lynbrook, and narrowly defeated No. 5 Garden City in the semifinal round.
With only Ashonte Rhodes graduating, the future is bright. “I’m not thinking about that now; maybe in a few days,” Magno said. “I’m going to tell them I’m proud of them and that I love them.”
