The 2014-15 Ma’ayanot Varsity basketball season is underway as a new school year begins. Last year, while the Ma’ayanot Junior Varsity basketball team advanced to the championship game, the varsity team had somewhat of a disappointing season. Many of last season’s JV players have now joined the school’s varsity team, and the Ma’ayanot varsity basketball team came out of the starting gates of the season running.

The Varsity Basketball team played its season opener on October 28^th at Ma’ayanot. The game against Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School got off to somewhat of a rocky start, with the Ma’ayanot Rapids trailing the Kushner Cobras by 4 points. By the middle of the 2^nd quarter however, the Rapids gained a lead, which held for the rest of the game. Senior Shoshana Marder scored the first basket of the season, followed by multiple shots made by Nachama Stern and Adina Rosenberg, who were instrumental in securing the lead. The Rapids played phenomenally throughout the game, and finished with a final score of 54-39.

On November 2nd, the Ma’ayanot Varsity played another home game, this time against the Frisch Cougars. The Ma’ayanot Rapids quickly took the lead and were ahead by 6 points by the end of the 1^st quarter. The Rapids maintained a significant lead for most of the game but, by the middle of the 4^th quarter, the Cougars were trailing by only 3 points. With two minutes left to the game, a Frisch 3-pointer tied the score and, when neither team scored during the remaining two minutes of play, the game went into overtime. In the four-minute overtime, each team scored numerous baskets, many of which were foul shots, and the Rapids and Cougars remained neck and neck throughout. However, with 20 seconds left in the game, Frisch was up by 1 point and held the lead long enough to win with a final score of 45-44.

In their most recent game, played on November 4^th, also on home turf, the Rapids racked up another victory, this time against the Hebrew Academy of Nassau County (HANC). The game did not start well for Ma’ayanot, with HANC gaining a quick 5-point lead by the middle of the 1^st quarter. By halftime, however, the Rapids were up by 11 points. The Ma’ayanot players were in fine form throughout, and finished the game with a 22 point lead and a final score of 49-27.