WEST ORANGE, NJ — For the seniors at Golda Och, this week is a very exciting one because the youngsters are in Israel as part of a work/study program. They will return to West Orange just prior to their graduation ceremonies in the late spring.
One youngster in particular, Ally Landau, figures to be on Cloud Nine. After all, last Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 11, in a home basketball game against Weequahic, the senior guard poured in 37 points to go over the 2,000 mark for her remarkable four-year varsity career. A pretty three-point shot put her at 2,001 and she finished the game, one which Golda Och won, with 2,018 career points. Gloria Rothenberg, who scored a school-record 2,091 points – her last season was 2012-13 – was a special guest at the contest. Landau, who at 5-foot-3 is much shorter than Rothenberg, enjoyed watching Rothenberg play when she was much younger.
“Ally just has killer instincts on the floor,” said Golda Och girls coach Aaron Breitman, who was a top player in his days at Columbia High School. “She obviously has great skills, but she always wants to do everything well off the court. That includes scoring, rebounding, dishing the ball all for assists and coming up with big steals to help the team out on defense.”
Golda Och, a fairly young team, was in the hunt for a division title all winter long, thanks to the gritty play of Landau.
Golda Och defeated Irvington, 53-44, Feb. 13, as Landau had 19 points to give her 2,037 career points. Yakira Kress had a game-high 20 points as Golda Och improved to a 15-4 record.
Landau, whose twin brother Ethan played well for the boys team this winter, will play hoops in college at Haverford, Pa. Interestingly, her best sport might be soccer. She also has done well in softball.
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