This past week, The Ma’ayanot varsity basketball team attended the Steve Glouberman Z”L Basketball Tournament in L.A. The rapids arrived on Wednesday night and played their first game on Thursday morning against Katz Yeshiva High School from Boca Raton, FL. Starting off strong, the Rapids beat the returning champions from last year in a huge upset. They played an amazing game, winning 38-35. Leading scorers Avigayil Kaminetsky with 10 points and Sari Alexander with 13, combined with Elisheva Mirwis’ hustle and intensity on defense, secured the win.
Later that day, the Rapids faced Shalhevet and put up a strong fight, however, unfortunately endured their first loss. Avigayil Halpert had an amazing defensive game, playing a box and one, and shutting down their number one player. Going into the playoffs, ranked fourth, the Rapids had an outstanding game against Hebrew Academy winning 38-12 putting Ma’ayanot into the semifinals. Sol Emunah Richter grabbed multiple rebounds to keep the lead and Rebecca Malech had fierce drives to the basket, finishing off with 10 points.
After spending a meaningful Shabbat bonding as a team, the Rapids were ready to face the number one seed, Frisch. With one minute 44 seconds left, and Frisch up by one, Noa Berkowitz hit a three putting Ma’ayanot in the lead, totaling 12 points for her in the game. Nealy Saks secured the lead, scoring another clutch three pointer. Then, to top it all off, Alexander, with just seconds left, made a three point layup, totaling 15 points for her. A final score of 50-45 put the Rapids into the championships. They ultimately lost in that final game, but to quote the Shalhevet commentator “Ma’ayanot has shocked the yeshiva league.”
Congratulations to Noa Berkowitz for taking home the All-Tournament award for Ma’ayanot and to captain Elisheva Merwis for earning the prestigious Glouberman award for her outstanding sportsmanship on and off the court. We would like to thank our dedicated coaches for leading us to the championships and never giving up on us. A special shoutout to our committed manager Amira Wittenberg for being our “ninth player.” Although we didn’t take home the first place trophy, we won something much more valuable: Our team came back stronger and ready to take on the yeshiva league as one unified family.
