(Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction) BEYOND THE ARC: Hun School girls’ basketball senior star Cara Fiori lofts a three-point shot in Hun’s 71-18 win over visiting Gwynedd-Mercy Academy (Pa.) last Saturday. Fiori hit three 3-pointers in the first quarter as the Raiders raced out to a 19-2 lead and never looked back.

With Fiori Dialing Long Distance, Hun Girls’ Hoops Produces 4-0 Start

Bill Alden

It didn’t take long for Cara Fiori to display her outside shooting prowess as the Hun School girls’ basketball team hosted Gwynedd-Mercy Academy (Pa.) last Saturday.

Fiori swished a three-pointer in the opening minutes of the contest to put Hun up 3-0.

The 5’11 senior forward hit two more 3-pointers in the first quarter to help set the tone as the Raiders raced out to a 19-2 lead on the way to a 71-18 rout of overmatched Gwynedd-Mercy.

As she reflected on the win which lifted Hun to 4-0 on the season, Fiori enjoyed being able to pick her spots in the one-sided contest.

“I didn’t shoot much the whole game but that is my strong point obviously,” said Fiori, who ended the afternoon with 11 points. “I am a shooter.”

The Raiders are stocked with shooters, showing their balance in the win Saturday as post-graduate Arielle Collins led the way with 14 points while Jah Leah Ellis chipped in 10 and Cyndra Couch and Onyx Mintah each added nine.

“We have a real good team this year,” said Fiori. “Everyone can score; it’s hard for teams to match up with us defensively because we have so many scorers. We are strong around the perimeter; we can shoot outside as a team. We also have girls who can play inside.”

The addition of Collins, a record-setting guard at Steinert, has helped jump start the Hun offense.

“Arielle was our missing puzzle piece,” explained Fiori. “We turned to Meg [Rigous] as our point guard last year; she had never played point before. Arielle is definitely helping our team out a lot. She sees the floor; she’s a good team player. We love her as a person.”

Hun also loves turning up the defensive heat, utilizing full-court pressure to bury Gwynedd-Mercy as the Raiders pitched a shutout in the third quarter after allowing just nine points in the first half.

“I know we came out pressing hard and obviously we got a pretty good lead to start out with,” said Fiori. “We held them to 18 points the whole game.”

Hun head coach Bill Holup was happy with his team’s hard effort on the defensive end.

“Defense has been a strong trademark of ours the past few years,” said Holup.

“The girls love to play defense; it is rare to have that type of personality. A lot of the times, four of the girls will want to just play offense and not really care much about defense. But defense gets us a lot of steals, layups, and open shots. It starts with defense and the girls want to play it. They are aggressive; we have been doing well so far.”

While Holup had no qualms with his players’ overall effort in the win over Gwynedd-Mercy, he acknowledged that the team’s offense is a work in progress.

“You always see something that needs to be worked on,” said Holup. “I don’t think we executed quite as well because kids had opportunities where there was a defensive breakdown and they immediately went for the shot. I want them to be a little more disciplined at times.”

Fiori’s early shooting outburst on Saturday, though, impressed Holup. “Cara was hitting those 3s early in the game,” said Holup.

“When you see a defense playing hard and then an offensive player hits a 3; that’s like a knife in the back. It takes the wind out of a defense. She has been pretty in the clutch the last couple of games hitting those 3s.”

Hun has been getting clutch play off the bench from senior forward Ellis.

“Jah-Leah has been doing that all season; she could just as easily start for us, but she has accepted this role right now,” said Holup.

“Things may change in the future, who knows. She has given us a terrific spark off the bench. She is full of energy; she is aggressive and that really helps.”

It also helps the Raiders to have Collins running things from the point guard spot.

“Arielle doesn’t care about scoring,” said Holup of Collins who set scoring records during her storied career at Steinert.

“She’ll shoot the ball and take the layup when it’s there but she won’t force it. She looks for other people. If you are open, she will find you. She’s been great with that. I think her and Meg are in terrific synch with each other.”

Holup is hoping his players can get even more in synch with each other as the season goes on.

“We are always striving to get better, I don’t want to put a cap on how we good we can be,” said Holup, whose team plays at Army Prep on December 18 before going on holiday break.

“It’s a long season and as long as everyone stays healthy and stays unselfish, it will be a very positive experience for all of us.”

Fiori, for her part, senses a positive vibe around the Hun squad. “We are friends on and off the court; that always helps,” said Fiori.

“There are a few times when we are not looking for each other. For the most part, I think we are playing as a team; we are off to a good start.”

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