Feb. 12, 2024
By Emily Reed
Editor-in-Chief
Tough competition has not stopped the girls basketball team. As of Feb. 11, the team’s record was 16-8.
On Feb. 3, the team won 58-39 in an away game against Leonia High School in the Bergen County Invitational quarterfinal round. On Feb. 10, the team will face off in an away game against Westwood High School in the invitational round.
Junior forward and captain Asya Akar, who is a co-captain alongside junior Sam Mayer and sophomore Brooke Harper, has been on varsity since her freshman year. She said even though the team has performed well this season, there is room for growth.
“The team needs to improve on communication and morale,” Akar said. “Sometimes when we’re down by a couple [of] points, we tend to put our heads down.”
Despite their weaknesses, Akar said she is proud of the players’ progress.
“The team [is] definitely more confident and has expanded [its] game IQ. We look like a completely different team now than at the beginning of the season,” Akar said.
Junior guard and point guard Alexia Marmorato, who is in her second season on varsity, said the team’s best win of the season was on Jan. 15 when LHS beat Passaic County Technical Institute High School 31-29.
Even though she did not play in the game because she was recovering from an ankle injury, she said the game was particularly meaningful to her because it was named the Jarel Lowery Showcase in honor of Head Coach Boyce’s friend who died in 2023.
“It was a really great game. The score was close the whole time,” Marmorato said. “We ended up winning and seeing the coach happy that we won. Especially because the showcase was in honor of his friend, [winning] meant a lot.”
Marmorato said she feels a sense of accomplishment when her team is successful.
“We look like a completely different team now than at the beginning of the season.”
“Watching the rest of my team work hard to have a winning record is so rewarding,” Marmorato said.
Like Akar, Marmorato said the players need to work on strengthening their communication.
“We have a lot of unforced turnovers that result in us losing games,” Marmorato said.
Sophomore guard Mylah Campbell, who joined varsity this year, said the players have the potential to go far in counties and states.
“Instead of us just giving up when we feel exhausted, we decide to keep working till the very last second of any game,” said Campbell.
