Teammates, starters, sisters and stars at SAR

By Jason Eisenberg

Issue of February 12, 2010/ 28 Shvat 5770

They are the sisters of yeshiva league basketball.

Shira is 5-feet-10-inches, plays center, can rebound the ball, block shots and is a scoring threat under the basket. Talya stands 5-feet-5-inches tall, is a speedy guard, a persistent defender, accurate passer and can hit shots from all over the court.

Together, they make up two-fifths of the starting lineup for Salanter Akiba Riverdale’s (SAR) undefeated girls high school basketball team.

But these two girls are much more than just teammates on the hardwood, they’re family. In fact, Shira and

Talya Lerner are fraternal twins, and the 17-year-old Riverdale residents have been interested in basketball for as long as they can remember.

“It has definitely been a family thing, starting with our father, and then our older brother and sister both played as well,” Shira explained. “I think there are pictures of Talya and me with basketballs from the time we were like 2 years old, and we have been hooked on the sport since.”

Sibling rivalry?

Now in their senior year of high school, Shira and Talya have been a part of the SAR basketball program since sixth grade. Unlike most siblings, the sisters say all the time spent playing basketball together has actually brought them closer.

According to the Lerners, they get along even better now than in the past, and are just about always together because they have the same group of friends. Even when they are not playing for their school or practicing with teammates, they frequently shoot hoops together on their backyard court.

From a basketball standpoint, their relationship has been aided by the fact that they have never had to compete for minutes at the same position because of their height difference. Still, sometimes sibling rivalry prevails.

“Yeah, if she scores more points than me, I am not going to lie, I am a little annoyed,” said Talya with a smile.

“And if she scores, then I tell myself I have to score too,” Shira quickly responded.

But on the court, the twins always work well together, according to Tali Cohen, who has coached the twins every year since sixth grade. The Lerners jokingly refer to their on-court chemistry as “twin telepathy.”

“I know, it is probably because we have grown up with each other, been playing together for so long and are always around each other,” said Shira. “But we like to think there is some kind of telepathic thing going on there and that is how we always know where the other one will be.”

Scouting reports

The girls can even provide a detailed scouting report on each other.

“Talya has good vision on the court, great ball handling skills and the way she can crossover when she dribbles, I could never do that in my life,” said Shira.

“Shira is great at using her height as an advantage and my first instinct is always to get her the ball because I am confident she will put it in,” said Talya.

While being on the same team for all these years has been fun for the twins themselves, it has likely been even better for their parents, Teena and Larry.

“We are their number-one fans and watching them has been just one of the prides of parenting for me over these past few years,” said Mr. Lerner. “I don’t think we have ever missed a home game.”

Both Shira and Talya give a lot of credit to Coach Cohen for helping them improve and have nothing but good things to say about their time working with her. This is a sentiment obviously shared by the coach herself.

“Over the past seven years, I have been lucky to see them grow both as players and as people,” said Coach Cohen. “They are leaders on and off the court and have so much enthusiasm for everything they do. It will definitely be sad for me to see them go at the end of this season.”

But before that happens, the sisters still have much more to accomplish. Right now, the SAR Lady Sting boast a perfect 11-0 record, with one final regular season game this week that will decide if they finish unbeaten. Then, at the end of the month, the team will enter the Yeshiva League playoffs as the number-one seed.

“It is so exciting, I get butterflies every time we talk about the playoffs. After losing in the championship game two years ago, I really hope we will go all the way this time, but I don’t want to jinx it,” said Shira.

“Yeah, finishing undefeated and winning the championship would be a perfect end to a great season,” Talya added.

One last outing

After graduation, Shira and Talya plan to study in Israel for a year. While there, they hope to continue playing basketball in one of the local leagues. But upon their return, the twins know their paths will diverge for the first time in their lives. Shira has already been accepted early-decision to Barnard College, while Talya is likely to attend either the University of Maryland or Muhlenberg College.

“In the back of my mind, the trip to Israel is almost like our last hurrah together,” said Shira.

“And it will be especially weird to not be on the same team, because we both plan on staying active with basketball,” Talya added, while Shira nodded in agreement. “But I am sure we will do whatever it takes to stay in touch and see each other as often as possible.”

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