(Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction) caption: IN THE PAINT: Hun School girls’ basketball star Cara Fiori powers into the paint in a game earlier this season. Last Saturday, Fiori scored 12 points to help Hun rout Blair 71-26 and snap a 5-game losing streak. Last Monday, Fiori and the Raiders kept on the winning track as they edged Immaculate heart 38-32. In upcoming action, Hun, now 9-6, plays at Hunterdon Central on January 19.

With Fiori Providing Intensity and Heart, Hun Girls’ Hoops Back on Winning Track

Bill Alden

In Cara Fiori’s first two years with the Hun School girls’ basketball program, the team suffered few defeats.

The Raiders went 20-7 two seasons ago and followed that up with a 23-5 mark last winter.

This season, Hun picked up where it left off the last two years, cruising to a 7-1 start.

Over the last two weeks, though, Fiori and her teammates got an unwelcome taste of losing as they dropped five straight games coming into last Saturday’s game against visiting Blair.

While Hun lost some tight games to such formidable teams as Allentown Catholic, North Hunterdon, and Peddie during the skid, Fiori acknowledged that the Raiders had also stumbled in some winnable games.

“We’ve played some tough teams but we also lost to teams we should not have lost to,” said Fiori. “We all have our hearts there but we were down in some games that we should not have been.”

It didn’t take long for Fiori and the Raiders to show Blair that their hearts were in it as Hun raced to a 15-0 lead. The Raiders never looked back in cruising to a 71-26 victory.

The Raiders were determined to put Blair away early. “We had lost five games in a row so it was good to come out strong today,” said Fiori, who chipped in 12 points in the win with Emily Gratch scoring 16 and Morgan Cawley adding 14. “We needed this win; it was important.”

Hun relied on its trademark stifling defense to get back on the winning track. “Defense is always there for us,” said Fiori. “We always say offense wins games but defense wins championships.”

In Fiori’s view, Hun gave a championship effort in its 49-46 overtime loss to perennial Prep A titleist Peddie earlier in the week.

“It’s getting closer and closer every time,” asserted Fiori.” It was a great game; we all thought we had it and then it went to OT. Hopefully we’ll be playing them two more times this year in the MAPL and the states.”

While Hun head coach Bill Holup has been frustrated by his team’s recent struggles, he was happy with effort he was getting from his players.

“We’ve been competitive in just about every game,” said Holup, noting that his team’s 53-33 loss to Germantown Academy was the team’s only lopsided setback in the losing streak. “We are competitive with just about everybody in the state. It’s a matter of taking care of the ball.”

Holup was happy to see his team get into a nice offensive rhythm in the win over Blair.

“We’ve just been missing a lot of shots in those close games,” said Holup. “We definitely had a height advantage over Blair today. We didn’t want to settle of the outside shot; we got it inside and got the higher percentage shots.”

Hun is looking to Fiori to be a presence both inside and on defense. “She really stepped up,” said Holup.

“She worked out a lot in the fall and played AAU ball in the offseason. Her game has gotten much better. She’s been guarding some of the other team’s smaller guards and that helps her with lateral movement. She is so hard to guard because she is so long.”

Although Hun was unable to break its long losing steak against Peddie, Holup feels a breakthrough is in the cards.

“It’s just frustrating because we are so close,” said Holup, whose team picked up a big win last Monday when it edged Immaculate Heart 38-32 to improve to 9-6.

“Sometimes you don’t get a lucky break. These girls are working hard enough that I hope we will get the lucky break down the line.”

With Hun having been a perennial runner-up in the MAPL and state Prep A tourneys in recent years, Holup is looking for some good fortune come tournament time.

“We expect it to pay off in February when we play the MAPL and the state tournament,” said Holup, whose team plays at Hunterdon Central on January 19. “We have to learn from this instead of just taking a loss here or there. We have to improve.”

Fiori, for her part, believes the team has the chemistry that will allow it to keep learning. “All of the girls are real close,” said Fiori.

“We are best friends on and off the court. It’s always good to have a really nice team.”

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