Hun Girls’ Hoops Struggling Down Stretch, Rough Loss to Peddie Prompts Soul Searching
OUT OF STEP: Hun School girls basketball player Erica Dwyer drives to the basket in a recent game. Last Saturday, senior guard Dwyer tallied 20 points in a losing cause as Hun fell 62-38 to Montgomery to suffer its eighth straight defeat. The Raiders, now 3-13, are slated to host Germantown Friends (Pa.) on February 5 and then play at the Shipley School (Pa.) on February 7. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
Just a few years ago, the Hun School-Peddie matchup was the most heated rivalry in local prep girls’ basketball.
The two programs met in the state Prep A finals five straight seasons from 2005-2009 and even though Peddie always prevailed, Hun customarily fought the Falcons to the final horn.
Last Wednesday, when the teams met in the latest installment of the series, those halcyon days were a distant memory.
A shorthanded Hun team, missing some key players to injury, fell behind visiting Peddie 16-0 on the way to a 74-40 defeat.
Afterward, a glum Hun head coach Bill Holup declined to use the injuries as an excuse.
“The injuries obviously impact the team but psychologically we have to be ready to play and physically we have to be ready to play,” said Holup, who was without the services of top scorer Janelle Mullen along with Alexis Goeke and Clare Moloney.
“We have got to get used to playing without Janelle. We are hoping she will be back the first week of February.”
Holup acknowledged that his team didn’t play well at either end of the court in the loss to Peddie.
“I don’t think we gave ourselves a chance at all in this game,” lamented Holup. “Defensively we were disorganized and offensively we didn’t move.”
In Holup’s view, his team needs to undergo some soul searching. “The bottom line is that we have to come ready to play,” said Holup, whose team fell 62-38 to Montgomery last Saturday to drop to 3-13 and is slated to host Germantown Friends (Pa.) on February 5 and then play at the Shipley School (Pa.) on February 7.
“I am disappointed in the overall effort that we put in. It is upsetting. I am hoping it is an aberration.”