Close Group of Lady Bridgemen Seniors Close Book on Basketball Careers

The Lady Bridgemen basketball team worked hard and worked together all season long, and senior leadership was a key for the team.

Ally Long made second team all-league as a junior and first team all-league as a senior. As for her teammates, Anthe Nikolaidis made honorable mention all-league in both her junior and senior years, Natalia Kim made second team all-league as a senior and Megan Gimson made honorable mention all-league as well. All four seniors were captains this season.

The four players together have quite the resume, and their hard work has certainly paid off. The girls have made four holiday tournament championship appearances and have won three of them. They also strung together three consecutive state tournament appearances. During their junior season, they won 10 games, a huge season for the team, while winning nine games their sophomore year and eight this season. They also participated in two very successful events.

Head coach Stacie Zafiris could not be more proud of her team and her seniors.

“Many of the things these seniors have done can't be found in box scores or by wins or losses,” said Zafiris. “These four seniors have built a foundation for Fort Lee Girls Basketball. The team plays with pride, hustle and determination. Their leadership and unselfishness will truly be missed. They have made us the Lady Bridgemen.”

Senior Ally Long always knew that the seniors had each others' backs throughout the four years.

“Playing with my senior teammates has been a great pleasure,” she said. “We've spent seven years playing basketball together, getting to know each other, frustrating each other, but most of all, being there for one another.”

Natalia Kim enjoyed her time as well and took everything that she could from playing with her three fellow seniors.

“It’s been an awesome experience," Kim said. “I learned a lot from my team and enjoyed playing with them.”

Anthe Nikolaidis will miss the experience, and the reality has set in for her now that the season is done.

“Honestly, there are no words to describe how amazing this season has been,” she said. “Handing in my uniform, knowing I am not going to get it back next year, was one of the hardest things I had to do so far this year. I am really going to miss my team and especially my coaches.”

Megan Gimson is also sad that basketball is over, but she and the other three seniors share another common interest they are looking forward to now.

“I've played with the other three seniors my whole softball career, and we get along really well,” said Gimson. “We're all friends and we all love softball. I can’t wait for the season to start and to compete with my team.”

Although basketball is over, the four senior standouts have an entire springtime ahead of them to keep their success and camaraderie alive.