(Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction) STEPPING UP: Hun School girls’ basketball star Meg Rigous, right, puts on the defensive pressure in a game last season. Rigous, a junior, has moved to point guard from forward and has adjusted well as Hun has gotten off to a 3-0 start this season. In upcoming action, Hun plays at Living Faith on December 15 before hosting Shawnee on December 17.

With Rigous Stepping Into Point Guard Role, Hun School Girls’ Hoops Cruises to 3-0 Start

Bill Alden

Meg Rigous distinguished herself as a solid forward last winter in her debut season with the Hun School girls’ basketball program.

The 5’10 Rigous proved to be a rugged post presence, utilizing a blend of tenacity and offensive skills to help Hun advance to the finals in both the Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL) and state Prep A title games.

Coming into this season, Rigous’ willingness to do whatever Hun needs took a different form.

With guards Ali Tartacoff and Karly Grace having graduated and no star guard waiting in the wings, Rigous took upon herself to assume the point guard role.

Last week, Rigous faced her first test at her new position as Hun hosted an athletic and up-tempo Pennington in its season opener.

With Pennington putting plenty of pressure on the ball, Rigous capably guided the Hun offense and scored 15 points as Hun pulled away to a 70-44 win.

In the wake of the win, Rigous said she is enjoying her transition to the backcourt.

“It’s different from what I’m used to,” said Rigous. “I’m getting used to it now; I like having the control and looking up the floor and seeing everyone. I’m giving everyone what they need; I’m helping everyone else score.”

With her new set of responsibilities, Rigous has been concentrating on improving different aspects of her game.

“I do a lot more dribbling now,” said Rigous. “I used to play in the post and I came out more so I worked on my shot. Now I’m doing a lot more dribbling, shooting off the dribble and taking it to the hole.”

The Raiders found themselves in a hole briefly in the win over Pennington, squandering a 10-0 lead as the visitors took the lead at 26-24 in the second quarter.

“It helped me and it helped the team to see what the pressure is going to be like when we play Peddie,” said Rigous, referring to the powerful Falcon team that beat Hun in both of the finals last year and has won 11 straight Prep A crowns. “We were getting out of control and we knew we all needed to settle down.”

Rigous and her teammates regained their cool, reeling off seven straight points to end the half.

“That run carried into the locker room,” said Rigous. “We were all smiling; we were telling each other that we had to help each other out. We knew what we needed to do.”

Hun head coach Bill Holup thought Rigous did what she needed to do in her debut running things from the point.

“She’s a workhorse out there,” said Holup. “I gave her a little breather in the first half and then she played the whole second half. She used her hands and legs. She got a lot of kicked balls on defense which disrupts a team’s offense.”

While Hun’s defense was as stifling as usual, Holup did acknowledge that his offense has farther to go.

“The defense was there for the most part,” said Holup, whose club employed a 1-3-1 set for most of the game.

“We need to work on the offensive end; we didn’t have our composure the whole time. It’s early. We’ll work hard, improve, and learn from this.”

Pennington’s up-tempo approach provided a good opening day test for the Raiders. “Pennington has some good soccer athletes; they are quick and fast every year,” said Holup, whose team routed Penn Charter 68-22 last Saturday to improve to 3-0 as senior star Emily Gratch posted a triple-double with 20 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists.

“It was a good opener for us. It may have been an ugly win but we managed to pull it out. They put on some good pressure and we used the bench a lot. Eventually our depth, balance, and overall size made the difference.”

Hun will need to be patient if it is going to keep wearing teams down. “We need to be composed at all time times; it doesn’t matter how much pressure is on us or the lack of pressure,” added Holup, whose team plays at Living Faith on December 15 before hosting Shawnee on December 17. “We don’t need to rush anything.”

Rigous, for her part, thinks the team will ultimately be ready for the pressure it will feel when it faces nemesis Peddie.

“We’re going for it; we want it and we’re all working hard,” said Rigous.

“We’re looking forward to playing Peddie; we’ll probably play them three times. We’re hoping we can beat them this year and give our seniors something to leave with.”

Working hard together has helped Hun develop a special chemistry. “We worked out with the guys this fall; we all played together,” added Rigous.

“We saw how well we looked for each other; we talk and communicate on and off the floor. We’re all good friends with each other off the court.”

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