ENDGAME: Hun School girls’ basketball head coach Bill Holup makes a point in a game last season. This winter, Holup led Hun to the finals of both Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL) tournament and state Prep A tourney in what turned out to be his final season at the helm as he has decided to step down. The Raiders went 15-11 this winter and Holup picked up the 300th win in his 23-year tenure at the school when Hun edged the Pingry School 56-53 in the state Prep A semifinal. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

When the Hun School girls’ basketball team edged the Pingry School 56-53 in the state Prep A semifinal, it was a significant win on many levels for the program.

First, Hun avenged a 68-59 regular season defeat to the Big Blue in early February. In addition, the triumph in the February 23 contest meant that Hun advanced to a second championship game this season as it had previously reached the Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL) final.

The victory also marked the 300th win for Hun head coach Bill Holup in his 23 years guiding the Raiders.

And with Hun going on to fall 87-41 to Blair in the Prep A title game to end the winter with a 15-11 record, it marked the final win for Holup, as he had decided to step down.

“I really thought about it, I had been wavering a little bit here and there over the past couple of years,” said Holup, reflecting on his decision to leave the program. “In December, I thought it was time. I have a 3-year-old son and in basketball season with late practices, I wasn’t getting home until after 8 p.m. We play games that aren’t just local with the MAPL. I had 23 years as the head coach at Hun and prior to that, six years at Stuart. That is 29 years, that is a lifetime.”

Making the title games was a fitting finale for Holup. “For us, beating Pingry to get to the final and beating Lawrenceville in the MAPL semis, those were really important games for us to win,” said Holup, whose team also fell to Blair in the MAPL title game. “To get to both of those championship games was really important for us.”

The victory over Pingry was a real thriller as the Raiders had to hold off a late rally by the Big Blue.

“It was a great win, Sasha [Moise] had a terrific game,” said Holup of junior forward Moise who had 24 points and six rebounds in the contest. “Their whole game plan was to stop Erin [Maguire] and they did a good job. They kept throwing new defenders at her to wear her down.  Sasha was able to pick up that slack and that made the difference right there. It was close.”

Hun ran into a great foe in the final in powerhouse Blair. “It was the third time playing them and they just have so many weapons,” said Holup.

“It is just really difficult for a lot of teams to keep up with them. They are so talented, they can shoot the three, they can all drive, and they are big. We had our hands full.”

While the Riders may not have been the most talented team, they got the most out of their ability this season.

“Ultimately we beat everybody in the MAPL except for Blair, I wasn’t really expecting that,” said Holup. “We had a one-point win up at the Hill School (52-51 on February 5). Mercersburg was tough. Everybody was competitive with each other with the exception of Blair being
better than everybody else. A lot of times people would say I am watching warmups and I really thought you guys would get blown away and then we would wind up beating the team or staying competitive with the team. We were really just a scrappy bunch and our defense was always there. Offensively we struggled at times because we had one go-to player in Erin.”

Maguire, a post-graduate star from Ireland, ended up leading the Raiders in points (509), assists (94), and steals (120) and was second in rebounds (141).

“Erin did most of the ball-handling, she was our leading scorer and on top of that, her energy level was always there,” said Maguire.

“She never gave up on plays and really fought through everything. As the season progressed and teams learned about her, they really tried to get to stop her. She made 92 threes, which was incredible.”

Over the last four years, Hun got an incredible contribution from senior guard Kiera Hahn.

“Kiera was never one that would be in the spotlight per se, but she always did everything; she was always there for us,” said Holup, who had a third senior in reserve Lily L’Oiseau. “She did all the things that you need somebody to do whether it is taking charges, coming up with a big rebound, or playing great defense. Whatever it was, she was always there for us, she was always dependable.”

There is a good foundation in place for Holup’s successor in junior Moise, sophomore Anna Schweer, freshman Amira Pinkett, sophomore Lauren Larkin, and junior Addy Ruth.

“Sasha is talented, not only in basketball but off the court,” said Holup, noting that Moise served as a tri-captain this winter along with Maguire and Hahn.

“She is always in the plays as a dancer. She splits her time between athletics and the arts, that is great. Anna got our coaches award; she is somebody who really stepped up after her freshman year. Amira is tall, she is also able to handle the ball. Lauren wound up starting a number of games when we had some players out with injuries and sickness. She always gave us some minutes off the bench and really helped us. Addy is a terrific player that we picked up.”

As Holup looks back on his Hun tenure, he strove to give his players a terrific experience year in, year out.

My philosophy has always been that I wanted my teams and my players to be competitive, to learn something, and also have fun,” said Holup. “I think I managed to accomplish that over the years. It has been fantastic. I had great kids who have ultimately moved on to bigger and better things in life.”