Whenever New Hampton found itself in a NEPSAC nail-biter — which happened frequently this winter — the Huskies could always count on Elyse Ngenda.
Ngenda (Bedford, N.H.), one of the region’s top 2026 prospects, won New Hampshire Gatorade Player of the Year behind her calm demeanor and versatility. The 5-foot-9 guard averaged 16.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.9 steals while leading the Huskies to the Class AAA semifinals. She and transfer forward Serenity Lancaster emerged as one of NEPSAC’s best duos.
Though Ngenda is even-keeled, her highlights speak loudly. They include a putback buzzer-beater during the regular season against Dexter Southfield and a 26-point, 13-rebound performance to lift New Hampton in the quarterfinals over Hoosac. Ngenda has amassed double-digit college offers from schools including Stanford, Northwestern, Harvard and more.
New Hampton coach Jamie Bavaro broke down what makes Ngenda special, including her best traits, next improvement areas and more.
Scoring composure
“Her I.Q. — I think she outsmarts some of her opponents. She does have this explosive, fire at some points where I do think she can go to the basket. She finds a way, just with the I.Q. She finds a way to get to the basket, she finds a way to score. Where we need it, that's up to her.”
Improved physicality
“She, last summer, was on a weightlifting program, and has carried that through this fall and throughout the season, and she's maintained that. Her physical ability definitely has improved. Her ability to back players down and again, finding ways to get to the basket despite her opponent's size — I do agree that she is definitely more physical than she had been in the past.”
Guard rebounding
“She is probably the best rebounding guard in the league. She can rebound the ball really well. I do think that it comes with her I.Q.; she finds a way to rebound defensively or even offensively, being aggressive. I'm always yelling at her to box out more, and I think she can even get more rebounds, but she finds a way to get boards, which is easy offense.”
Playing next to a star post player
“This year with Elyse feeding (Lancaster), and then moving off of the ball (helped). Moving more off-ball, back cuts and things, so she doesn't have to do too much on-ball. That’s been nice for her and that's definitely progressed throughout the season: getting the ball into Serenity and then moving, trying to stay open, and trying to do things to help her defenders not double Serenity. So that improved, definitely.”
Next growth steps
“Her ball-handling. (I) would love to get just the versatility with her, her quickness with the ball, left hand, right hand, just being comfortable in both. She does a great job, but I just think that would be something to be quicker. … The shooting off the dribble quicker and having that quick release (too). She's improved on that, but I think that would be the next thing that we would do this spring.”
