Thursday, October 1, 2026
Facing each of Nassau Conference A-1’s top three contenders within the opening month, including defending county and Long Island Class A champion Wantagh, put Valley Stream North in a difficult spot but the Spartans broke through last Friday against an improved neighboring rival.
Junior Jada Jones had 9 points, senior Alessia Nunnari and juniors Paige Fessler added 8, and freshman point guard Ava Papantoniou chipped in 7 in an ultra-balanced effort for North, which scored the game’s first 13 points and never looked back in a 45-27 victory over visiting Valley Stream South. The matchup was the nightcap of a boys/girls doubleheader which saw North’s boys triumph over South by 15 points before a packed house earlier.
“We really needed a win,” VSN head coach Dan Lodato said. “The girls have kept their spirits up despite struggling in some games and the thing we stressed most about tonight was starting fast. That’s something we haven’t been able to do as much as we’d like, so it was good to see.”
The Falcons (4-6), who’ve already doubled last season’s win total after only 10 games, got a game-high 15 points from freshman point guard Adelynn Espinal, who scored 22 the next morning in a 49-39 win over Roosevelt.
“Our skill set and motivation are so much improved,” VSS head coach Dominique Serpico said. “A bunch of these girls are playing on outside teams and it really shows.”
Espinal led South in scoring in each of its three victories. She had 20 against Lawrence, 14 versus Friends Academy, and 10 against Roosevelt in the first of two meetings. “She was on varsity last season and has continued to elevate her game,” Serpico said. “She has nice shooting range and is a heady player.”
Naima Brown and Jessica Dyer are the only seniors on a roster loaded with eight freshmen and a couple of eighth-graders. Freshmen Aubree Awai and Mariyah Harrison, and shifty eighth-grade guard Aminata Ba are all getting major minutes. Awai had 18 Saturday.
“Beating Friends Academy was big for us,” Serpico said of the 28-27 win that saw Ba score 6 points and record 4 steals. “South hasn’t done that in a really long time,” she added. “We had a pretty good lead late and had to find a way to hang on,”
Awai scored the team’s first basket at North (3-6), but it wasn’t until 90 seconds elapsed in the second quarter. Nunnari had eight points in the opening quarter to set the tone for the hosts.
Espinal hit a pair of treys in the second as the Falcons awoke and outscored the Spartans by an 11-9 margin to get within 22-11 at halftime. The third quarter, however, was all North.
Jones had five points, Fessler four and Papantoniou three and the margin swelled to 35-14 entering the fourth. Fessler was also a force on the boards, grabbing 10 rebounds.
“We’ve had the same starting five every game and they’re working hard,” Lodato said. “Alessia and Jasmine [Harrison] are leading the way as captains and I think we’ll keep getting better.”
The win snapped a four-game skid for the Spartans, who travel to South for the rematch Feb. 6 at 7 p.m.
