The eighth-grade Great Neck North Middle School Lady Blazers defeated Friend’s Academy to complete an undefeated 9-0 season, an accomplishment not seen by a middle school Lady Blazer team in almost 30 years.
The team’s success starts with head coach Linda Weber. She led a squad with a deep pool of talent, as many of the players on the roster have played Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) and other forms of organized basketball.
Hailey Hakimi, Emma Lavian and Madison Toch were the team’s primary point guards and spearheaded an offense that overwhelmed it’s opposition.
Madison Mashieh, Madison Toch and Emma Lavian lead the team in scoring. Alexa Hizon, Juliana Nejat and Chloe Haimof were also consistent scoring threats.
Defensively, the team was led by the tenacious play of Gaby Klebanov, Jaden Maze, Blake Yousefzadeh and Tori Zargari. The team benefited from the aggressive rebounding provided by Leah Heimowitz, Juliana Levy, Hudson Mashieh and Juliet Yashaya.
The middle school basketball season does not culminate in playoffs, but this season’s success portends an exciting next four years for Great Neck North High School girls basketball.
—Written by Grant Toch
