Great Season for Varsity Lady Aces
The Lady Aces varsity basketball team concluded the formal part of their season as semi-finalists after a 42-38 loss to Elgin Academy in the semifinals of the IHSA State Tournament regionals. In a hard fought game that featured 10 lead changes, the Lady Aces were led by Nechama Braun with 16pts, 8 rebounds and 6 steals. Yardayna Ben-Simon chipped in with 5 points, 7 rebounds and 2 steals. Shirelle Borochov, contributed 6 points, 2 assists, and 4 blocked shots.
Prior to the state tournament, the Lady Aces took 2nd place in the Chicagoland Prep Conference tournament 1-30 thru 2-2. Entering the tournament with a #3 seed, the Lady Aces avenged an early season loss to Christ The King, taking a hard fought game by the score of 44-33 and advancing to the semifinal round vs Providence St. Mel. The Aces were led by Nechama Braun, Yardayna Ben-Simon and Emily Blumberg who scored 16,8 and 8 pts respectively. Daniella Well chipped in with 5 points but played a monster game on the defensive end grabbing 10 rebounds while playing a solid floor game.
The Lady Aces were set on revenge in the semifinals vs Providence St. Mel, who had beaten the Aces earlier in the season in a tough game decided by 2 points. The Lady Aces played their best game of the year, winning decisively 47-27. The Aces were led by Nechama Braun with 23pts, 12 rebounds, and 12 assists. Yardayna Ben Simon had 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Daniella Well chipped in with 6 points and 9 rebounds.
This set the stage for the championship game between Ida Crown and #1 seeded Hope Academy. The last time the Aces reached the championship was 2011. It was however not meant to be as the Aces, playing their third game in four nights. They were no match for Hope as they went down hard in defeat 80-18. This the same Hope team the Aces lost to 58-56 just a few short weeks ago.
Nechama Braun was named 1st team All-Conference and was runner up in Conference Player of the Year Voting, Yardayna Ben-Simon was voted 2nd Team All-Conference, and Coach Burt Levy was runner up in Coach-of-the-Year voting.
To date the Lady Aces have an overall record of 11-10, and a 5-3 record in conference play during the season, and finished 2nd in the Chicagoland Prep Conference.
The Aces now turn their focus to Miami, where they will be preparing to defend their run to the title game last year in the 12th Annual Hebrew Academy Girls basketball Tournament and Shabbaton. While losing to a talented Flatbush team in the championship game last year by 5, Flatbush is not returning from Brooklyn, NY to defend their title, so on paper the Lady Aces could be the team to beat in this year’s tournament..
The Aces open pool play Wednesday February 22 vs. Columbus Torah Academy at 8pm. They have an early morning wakeup call with an 8am contest vs. Beren from Houston on 2-23-17, then a day to enjoy the skills competition and the sun resting up for their 8pm rematch vs. Miami Hebrew Academy, whom the Aces beat on a last second shot by Daniella Well last year, on their home floor, sending the Aces to the championship game at midnight in Miami.