DRIVING FORCE: Hun School girls’ basketball player Kennedy Jardine drives to the basket in recent action. Last Saturday, junior star Jardine scored 15 points in a losing cause as Hun fell 50-47 in overtime to the Baldwin School (Pa.) to move to 5-2. The Raiders are next in action when they host the Blair Academy on January 8. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Bill Holup liked what he saw as his Hun School girls’ basketball team won its first four games.

“We beat some solid teams and we won close games,” said Hun head coach Holup. “The girls were finding ways to win.”

Last Wednesday, Hun ran into a very solid team as it played at Stuart Country Day School and tasted defeat for the first time this winter, falling 73-35 to the Tartans.

“Today was more of a reality check,” said Holup. “I think we did a little too much dribbling, we just weren’t prepared for the pressure they were going to put on us.”

Hun junior star Kennedy Jardine had a good day in a losing cause, tallying 20 points for the Raiders.

“Kennedy is a co-captain and she provides some of that leadership, especially for the younger players,” said Holup, who has also been getting good play from junior Izzy Lalo, senior Lainey Nolan, senior Nicole Angelini, and sophomore Kiera Hahn.

“She has got some height and has been doing a much better job trying to mix it up, getting inside and attacking. She is trying to be physical and trying to box out as well. I would say earlier in her freshman and sophomore year, she was a little more of a finesse player and now she is making her game a little more versatile.”

While Holup was disappointed to see his team fall to Stuart, he was confident that Hun would bounce back from the defeat.

“It is important to see how we respond in practice tomorrow and back-to-back games Friday and Saturday,” said Holup, whose team defeated Agnes Irwin 56-29 on Friday before falling 50-47 in overtime to the Baldwin School (Pa.) the next day to move to 5-2 and will return to action when it hosts the Blair Academy on January 8.

“The girls have been playing terrific. We will be healthy in January when we will get Enya [Maguire] back and that will add another dimension. Otherwise, everybody has stepped up,”