There are many new faces on the basketball team this year. We have senior, Sofiya ; sophomore, Deborah ; freshman, Krystal ; and prep, Mayte! They are wonderful players and show a lot of their efforts for their first time on the court and the rest of some games. The coaches for the Girls’ Varsity Basketball are Mr. Larry Manning and Mr. Robert Saccente Jr.! Senior, Lizzie Povilauskas and myself, Amanda Geffen are the captain for the team.

We are playing for IPPSAL League, we faced many private schools; Solomon Schester, Our Savior New American, Portledge, and Lutheran High. We also faced some deaf schools; Scranton, Lexington, and more at ESDAA Division II tournament at Rhode Island.

I will tell you about our first three games! Our overall record is 2-2. First game, we played against Portledge! On the court, my girls and myself didn’t show a lot of energy to play! Also, not enough of motivation on the court. End up, we lost 18 to 11. Junior, Avianca make three points and junior, Amanda make eleven points.

The second game, we played against Scranton School for the Deaf. In the beginning of the game, the girls were on hot streak and got a lot baskets. We were leading by twenty points by halftime. And, we kept going with our spirits inside ourselves and show a lot of hustle with a lot of energy. We won 57 to 36. The coaches were so proud of us! The results was senior, Lizzie make five points with the highest of rebounds. Senior, Sofiya make her first four points. Junior, Avianca make 19 points and myself, Amanda make 29 points and broke a school record for girls basketball. Sophomore, Deborah make her first two points on the court with a big smile from the coaches and the players.

The third game, we played against Solomon Schester, the whole game was very hot game and the girls kept playing and have those words “NEVER GIVE UP!” in our minds. End up, we won again; 32 to 29! The girls are very exciting for more upcoming games soon and we are looking forward for more winning season, hopefully! I will be back with more information on the next report!

The fourth game, we played against Our Savior New American School, the beginning of the game were very exciting and hot. We only had five girls playing on the court all the way. We worked a lot and were very tired. But, we did great on the court. End up we lost 70 to 48, with bad referees on the court. Sofiya make twenty points, Amanda, myself make sixteen points, Lizzie make 10 points and Avianca make two. We played amazing on the court and impress our coaches!

Comments from the team: Lizzie; Sr.- I always told my teammates to never give up! I love to give my spirit into them. So, that make them fire up during the games. Mayte; Prep- I always looking forward for upcoming games and love to win the games. Amanda; Jr.- to be honestly, I love my girls! They are amazing even though we have few girls on the team. We worked a lot on the court and show a lot of amazing efforts inside our heart to win those games. Larry; a coach- With only seven players for the 2007- 2008 season, the girls’ basketball team will have its work cut out for them. Robert and myself return as co-head coaches and will be relying heavily on Seniors Lizzie Povilauskas, Sofiya Kalinova, and Juniors Amanda Geffen, Avianca Whitfield to do the bulk of the work. Newcomer Sophomore Deborah Sangabowale will provide help offensively and defensively. Freshman Krystal Burgess and Eighth Grader Mayte Morales round off the rest of the team. On November, 29^th, the team dominated Scranton School for the Deaf and Amanda Geffen broke the school record (girls’ basketball) for the most points in one game with 29 points. In IPPSAL League play, the team currently has one win and one loss. Mill Neck will be participating in the ESDAA Division 2 Girls’ Basketball Tournament which will be held at Rhode Island School for the Deaf, RI from February 28^th to March 1^st. Sofiya; Sr.- I am so happy that I am in the team. Those girls are so amazing and helped me a lot to improved myself with the basketball skills. We give a lot of supports to each other. Once again, they are amazing! I will miss them so much.

Top Row: Co-Coaches; Robert Saccente Jr. and Larry Manning

Bottom Row: L to R: Mayte Morales, Sofiya Kalinova,

Lizzie Povilauskas, Amanda Geffen, and Avianca Whitfield

Missing in the photo: Krystal Burgess and Deborah Sangabowale