After six, exciting semi- final games the night before, Sunday, December 16, marked MGBL girls championship sunday. In the first game, the number five seeded Judaica House team looked to upset the number two seed Nets team. As soon as the game began, it was obvious the Nets had no intention of leaving the gym without the championship trophies. The one-two punch of Naomi Wild and Ava Benkel catapulted the Nets to a 14-0 lead and they never looked back. Containing Judaica House’s Danielle Beckoff (one of the league’s top scorers) was not an easy task but the swarming managed to limit her scoring. When the game was over, the Nets and team MVP Naomi Wild were crowned the fifth/sixth grade girls champions.
The second game featured the top seeded Jedi Knights versus the number four Poppy’s Bagels Pizza and TCBY team. In true Willis Reed fashion, Poppy’s Bagels Pizza and TCBY’s leading scorer Shayna Eizikovitz arrived at game time, battling illness. The first quarter was a defensive battle with each team trying to feel the other out. In the second quarter, the Jedi Knights started to pull away, lead by a 11-0 Ariella Piontnica run. Avigayil Alter followed with eight consecutive points of her own. Poppy’s Bagels Pizza and TCBY was not going down without a fight, Lea Kirschenbaum scored 12 points in the second half to go along with eight from Eizikovitz. When the final buzzer sounded, the Jedi Knights, led by co-MVPs Ariella Piontnica and Avigail Alter, took home the third/fourth grade girls championship.
The third game of the day showcased the number four seeded Rockwell Management team trying to knock of the number one seeded, and undefeated, LYNLY Insurance team. Rockwell came out hungry with four points from Kayla Nussbaum and built an early 6-2 lead. A huge 3 pointer from Ella Ashendorf and some terrific play from Sarah Motechin turned that deficit into a 17-10 Lynly lead at the half. Coming out of the half, Rockwell once again stepped it up with huge defensive stops by Sara Mirwis and Paige Ratner to trim the LYNLY lead to two baskets going into the fourth. In the fourth, Remi Erber connected twice to tie the game with seven minutes to play and a basket from MVP Kayla Nussbaum with under four minutes to play, gave Rockwell Management the lead that they would not give back.
The league would like to take this opportunity to thank our generous team sponsors, the family members and friends that come out every week to cheer the girls along, the coaches and their families who have volunteered countless hours to help guide the girls during the season and of course the girls who made this season a very memorable one.
The action continues next Sunday with the second grade girls championship, 9 a.m. at Yeshivat Ben Porat Yosef, followed by second grade boys evaluations. There are still a couple of open spots if your son wants to play in the 10th season of MGBL boys basketball, starting later this month. To sign up please go to https://www.mgbl.org/SignUpPart1.php
By JLNJ Sports Desk
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