Gina Schreier ‘26, Sports Staff Writer

Girls Basketball Captain Dagny Slomack ‘24 reaches for a layup, courtesy of Newark Academy Minutemen

For the past couple of years, the Newark Academy Girls Basketball Team has been a dominant force on the court. As we move further into tournament season, all eyes will be on this program. Last year, NAGB won the Prep B Championship, earning themselves a spot in the coveted top division. Despite facing more challenging opponents, the team has had an excellent showing. They are 15-7 as of February 14, and had massive wins over Verona and Mount St. Dominic to advance past the first two rounds of the Essex County Tournament. Unfortunately, their run in that competition came to an end after a tough loss to Montclair Immaculate. In the Prep Tournament, NAGB beat Princeton Day School and then Morristown Beard to advance to the Prep Championship. They will face off against Pennington at 4:15 PM on Thursday, February 16, with the hopes of reclaiming the title of Prep Champions. Having been to the State final last year and just falling short of the championship win, NAGB will undoubtedly be the ones to watch heading into the postseason.

When watching this group or speaking to the players, it becomes clear that there is a level of hard work and dedication built into the foundation of this team that cannot go unnoticed. They begin their season over winter break, forgoing relaxation to train and compete in a tournament in Wildwood, NJ. Once the season begins, they train vigorously to be the best team possible. “Practices are all about perfecting the small details and pushing each other, so when game time comes, we’re ready to perform at our highest potential,” says Erica Reed ‘26, who is currently in her second season with NAGB. 

The team’s collective desire to win stems from their leadership, and has created a mindset that has set the program up for success. “Our goal is always to win every game,” explains Captain Dagny Slomack ‘24, and the effort that this group plays with is certainly representative of that goal.

As hard as this team works, Reed notes that their success on the court would be impossible without the strong bond that has developed between players. “It’s because of our chemistry that we’re able to trust each other to make the right plays to help us win games,” she says.

As all of our winter sports teams head into their respective tournaments over the next couple of weeks, NAGB will be looking to find the same success that they had last season. This year, not only are they striving for a repeat title in the Prep Championship, but Slomack makes it clear that their long term goal is to “get back to and win the State sectional final.” 

The team has had much to celebrate this season, even before playoff games have begun. Head Coach Liz Bona, currently in her 18th season with NAGB, reached her 250th win in a huge 48-26 victory over Columbia High School on December 14. Slomack and her fellow captain Kat Dakos ‘24 both surpassed a significant milestone earlier in the season as well, becoming the fourth and fifth students respectively to join the 1000-Point Club at NA. Dakos and Slomack were also nominated for the McDonald’s All-American Games, an impressive accomplishment awarded to a select group of student-athletes.

Fortunately for the NA community, this season will not be the last time we get to see Dakos and Slomack in action. Both athletes have committed to play basketball in college, a testament to their hard work, dedication to the team, and passion for the sport. Dakos will be attending Christopher Newport University, and Slomack will be playing for Central Connecticut State University next winter.

As the team heads into the County, Prep, and State tournaments to finish off their season, Slomack says that the NA community should “expect to see a really exciting and successful team for the rest of this season.” Given their past record and their performance so far this season, it’s easy to believe that she and the rest of the team will follow through on that promise. A team with a combination of work ethic and skill like this one is rare to see, and this community is lucky to have the opportunity to watch them play high-level basketball right here at NA.