TURNING THE CORNER: Hun School girls’ basketball player Julie Fassl dribbles around a foe in a game this winter. Senior guard Fassl’s scrappy play helped Hun finish with a final record of 10-14, a marked improvement on the 1-22 mark posted in 2015-16. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Although the Hun School girls’ basketball team wasn’t in the running for a title at the end of the season, it culminated the winter with a memorable triumph.

Playing at North Brunswick in its season finale, the Raiders prevailed 58-52 to finish at 10-14, a marked improvement on the 1-22 record posted in 2015-16.

“It was nice to end on such a positive note,” said Hun head coach Bill Holup, noting that the matchup was a makeup game.

“We were actually sluggish in the first half; it was 30-30 at the half and we looked fairly tired out there. We had a terrific third quarter.”

Coming off the nightmarish campaign last winter, the Raiders showed terrific progress this winter.

“It turned out to be a real positive season even though we had a losing record,” said Holup.

“We are still in the rebuilding stages and hopefully we will add a couple of more pieces next year.”

One of the biggest positives for Hun this season was the play of sophomore transfer Jada Jones.

“Jada is a scorer and has a scorer’s mentality and that is a player we haven’t had the past couple of years, somebody who would really take charge on the offensive end and try to make things happen,” said Holup of Jones, who averaged 20 points a game for the Raiders.

“That is her mentality. She kept us in games because we had someone who we could get the ball to and had the ability to put it in the hole.”

Freshman Alexis Harvell took charge in the paint at times this season. “She is very raw and is only a freshman and faced some tough competition this year,” said Holup of the 5’11 Harvell.

“She had a real nice season and will get better as she continues to get more aggressive and improve her skills. That was something we didn’t have the past couple of years, she gave us height, some size.”

The aggression displayed by freshman Nicole Angelini and sophomore Leah Sutphen, who also star for the Hun girls’ soccer team, gave the Raiders a lift.

“Nicole was a pleasant surprise; I was talking to Ms. Hallac (Hun girls’ soccer coach Joanna Hallac) in the beginning of the season and she was telling me on the soccer field, that Nicole is not big in stature but she gets knocked down and she is right back up,” said Holup.

“She is very aggressive and is confident in herself and she did the same thing on the basketball court. For the second year in a row, Leah’s all-around hustle at both ends of the floor was terrific. Her aggressiveness and physicality out there is great. That effort is what you love as a coach.”

Holup got a big effort from senior captain and guard Julie Fassl, a four-year varsity performer.

“Julie had a great season this year; she was part of the program for the past four years,” said Holup of Fassl, who ended her career with a bang as she scored 14 points in the season finale.

“Her all-around competitiveness and tenacity is similar to Leah Sutphen. She is at both ends of the floor; she is very aggressive and competitive. She will do anything the coach asks. You love that type of player out there. On top of that, she has a great personality.”

While post-graduate guard Anna Maguire missed 11 games due to a knee injury, she made a major impact when she was on the court.

“Anna handles the ball, she ran the offense for us,” said Holup. “She has a terrific scoring ability but she knows that she is playing point guard and she is looking to pass first. Sometimes I would get on her about not shooting enough and then she would certainly step it up. She is always looking out for the other players.”

The team’s two other seniors, C.J. Mozeika and Mia Cura, stepped up in their final season with the program.

“The improvement that C.J. had on both ends of the floor was terrific; I had a lot of confidence putting her in at times for defensive purposes for boxing out and rebounding,” said Holup.

“When Alexis Harvell got in foul trouble, she was able to step right in and gave us some good quality minutes. Mia gives us that all-around scrappiness; certainly her outside shooting was terrific. She is not the biggest player out there but she is not afraid to mix it up with anybody. She left it all on the floor, diving for loose balls and doing everything to help the team win.”

 After seeing his team show so much improvement this winter, Holup is confident that the Raiders can keep going in the right direction.

“We had 10 times as many wins as last year; I was very happy with how the season went,” said Holup.

“On top of that, it was just a great group of kids. They were competitive, they were just fun to be around. We are back in the upswing with the kids that we have coming back. Hopefully we will have a nice solid season next year and continue the momentum that we ended this season with.”