Twin Basketball Stars Decide to Go Private

Sarah Bovo

Noelani (left) and Tashawni Cornfield (right) pose in their Gauchos uniform.

When people hear the names, “Noelani and Tashawni Cornfield,” they picture the energetic and goofy twins. However, what they’re best known for is their success in basketball.

Both girls started their love for the game at the age of two years old. They have been a part of teams such as: I-90 Elite, NYC Gauchos, Ontario Blue Stars, Titans, and Lake Shore. Lani was on JV her seventh grade year and was on Varsity from eighth through her junior year. Shawni played on Varsity since seventh grade to her junior year. Both girls made it evident that they were stars. Lani is a point guard and Shawni is a shooting guard both having over 1,000 points. However, they knew that staying at Lake Shore to pursue a future with basketball may not suffice. They took the initiative to switch to Putnam Science Academy (a boarding prep school away from their family and surrounded by new faces) in Putnam, CT.

The twins loved being at Lake Shore and both related, “We got to play with our childhood teammates and we had chemistry with them.” The downfall for the twins was, “College coaches weren’t able to see us.” Mr. Besant, Lake Shore Athletic Director said the following about the issue: “It shouldn’t matter if you go to public or private school, if you’re that good, colleges will come and find you.” No matter what, Mr. Besant wants what is best for the twins as he would if it were anyone else.

The transition was different for each twin. Lani said, “It was a very hard decision to switch schools, especially it being my senior year.” Shawni felt the opposite, “The change wasn’t too hard for me despite being away from my family who I love most, but it would have been much harder if I was away from Lani, as well (so thank God she came).” Both girls are happy with the choice they made and the opportunity they were given.

“Overall, I’m happy to be here, making new friends, seeing life from a different perspective and doing more things involving college,” stated Shawni.

“I do feel it is a better route because we are attending more tournaments where college coaches look at us,” added Lani.

Lani and Shawni’s future endeavors include attending a D1 college to play basketball. Lani plans to major in computer science and Shanwi is deciding between architecture or oncology. They are looking forward to taking their studies into the real world and continue the growth of their basketball careers.