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 (Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction) caption:
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Hun Girls' Hoops Takes Stuart Title But Needs to Show More Intensity
By Bill Alden
Bill Holup expects a lot out of his Hun School girls' basketball team this winter.
On paper, the Raiders have the talent and experience to battle for the state Prep A title.
So when Hun didn't bring its ŒA-game' last Thursday in cruising past Stuart 72-39 in the championship game of Stuart's annual Tip-Off Tournament, Holup wasn't impressed by the final margin of victory.
"I think we went through the motions tonight," said a grim-faced Holup, who is in his sixth year guiding the Hun girls' program.
"We can't think that we can do that throughout the season. We can't think that we can just turn it on and off whenever we want. That's just not going to happen."
Hun senior stalwart Jill Fonseca seconded Holup's assessment. "We didn't come ready to play tonight," acknowledged Fonseca, who spearheaded Hun's pressing defense against Stuart and contributed three points.
"We weren't there mentally tonight. We have the talent; we have a strong team. It's just the mental aspect that has to come together."
In Holup's view, the team's failure to focus was reflected in squandered opportunities in the paint. "We just missed way too many lay-ups," said Holup, whose team routed Abington Friends 58-36 on Wednesday to advance to the event's title game.
"We were trying to get the ball inside and we were getting shots inside. They have to do a better job of taking it up strong."
Holup knows that his club can't afford to leave it to later when it gets into the thick of its schedule. "We have to make sure we are mentally prepared," maintained Holup, whose club improved to 3-0 by topping Lower Moreland 58-37 last Friday.
"We have to play better at the beginning of the game and not wait until the second half. It took us a while before we started playing our game."
Holup asserted that even his senior star Shantee Darrian, who scored 25 points in the title game, was guilty of getting out of the gate slowly.
"Shantee started out a little slow tonight," said Holup of his gifted 6'0 standout who was named to the All-Tournament team at the Stuart tourney. "She hit some nice shots. She needs to be sure she is focused right from the start."
Hun did get focused efforts from junior Mary Stinson and precocious freshman Emily Gratch. "Mary came out strong in both games, she hit a lot of lay-ups," said Holup of the 6'0 forward who made the All-Tournament team as she scored a total of 33 points. "She made a lot of lay-ups for us. I think Emily gave us a terrific spark off the bench."
Fonseca, for her part, is looking to spark the Raiders through her focus on defense.
"I don't really score that much," said a smiling Fonseca, who also stars for Hun's soccer and softball teams.
"I love playing defense; I'm always put on the other team's best player. I'm a defensive player in every sport I play." The gritty senior believes that she and her teammates will have Hun's foes on the defensive this season. "We have a very strong team," asserted Fonseca, who will be looking to help Hun on the winning track as it hosts Pennsbury High on December 11.
"We have a lot of potential. This is the second year our starting lineup has played together so we're used to each other. We know how each other play. If we come to play together on a certain day, we can be very good."
Good enough to hopefully meet their coach's high expectations.
