Thursday, October 1, 2026
Sewanhaka went into last Friday’s Nassau Class A girls’ basketball playoff game at North Shore looking to pull off an upset, and hoping to show the county that it was a little stronger than where it was seeded.
While the Lady Indians certainly proved their merit, in the end the defending Long Island Class A champions were just a little too much to handle. Gabrielle Zaffiro scored 29 points and dished out four assists to lead No. 3 North Shore to a hard-fought 60-47 victory over No. 14 Sewanhaka in the opening round.
The Lady Indians, who were led by Casey Hayes’s 14 points, finished with an overall record of 11-9 (9-5 in Conference A-I). North Shore, which improved to 16-3, advanced to the quarterfinals where it will take on Cold Spring Harbor.
After falling behind by 10 points at the half, the Indians caught fire and opened the third quarter on a 17-7 run to tie the score at 40. Freshman Carly Bolivar did a remarkable job of keeping Zaffiro, the second leading scorer on Long Island at 28.2 points per game, relatively quiet during the run.
However, containing Zaffiro and keeping her from imposing her will are two very different things. The sophomore guard led the Vikings on a 20-7 run of their own to close out the game. She made 12 of the team’s 20 free throws, and was a perfect 8-for-8 in the final quarter.
“Their philosophy is to wear teams down,” Sewanhaka head coach Alex Soupios said. “They push so hard, and ultimately, teams run out of gas. They’re very good at what they do, and are very well coached. We tried to slow things down in the third quarter, and it was effective. I give them all the credit. In the playoffs, you have to knock down your free throws. They were great from the line. That’s what winning teams do.”
Hayes had a terrific senior season, averaging 14.4 points per game, and hitting the 1,000-point mark on Senior Night with a 28-point, 14-rebound effort in a 61-47 win over Bellmore JFK. Junior Destiny Hurt, the team’s leading scorer, scored 10 points in the playoff defeat.
With only Hayes and Amanda Commisso graduating, and the freshmen class having a full season of varsity experience, the future is bright for the Indians.
“I was very lucky to have Casey for all these years,” Soupios said. “It’s really been a beautiful thing to watch her grow and lead by example. The underclassmen showed a lot. To go into a playoff game against a team that won Long Island a year ago is no easy feat. We weren’t scared or intimidated by the moment. It’s going to fun to watch these girls continue to develop.”
