MIDDLEFIELD—Haley Domen and Taylor Soltis combined for 32 points in Cardinal’s 54-46 win over visiting Fairport Harding on Saturday.
With the win, the Huskies have now won five of their last eight games after starting the season with one win in their first 10 contests.
“I’m real happy with how we have been developing,” Cardinal coach Joe DiMattia said. “The younger kids are getting experience and they’re learning the game and getting down the mental part of it too. That’s good to see and hopefully, it helps us in the tournament and for sure, and in the next couple of seasons.”
The Huskies, who improved to 7-14 overall and 6-8 in Chagrin Valley Conference play, got off to a hot start thanks to Domen, who scored 11 of her game-high 18 in the first quarter as the Huskies built an 11-2 lead.
Fairport rallied in the second quarter to pull to within 24-17 at halftime.
“The first time we played them, we had a little easier time,” DiMattia said. “They came out ready to play.”
Soltis, who was honored prior to the game as Cardinal’s lone senior, delivered back-to-back 3-pointers in the third quarter to keep the Skippers at a distance. She finished with 14 points.
“Tay came out and hit some big shots on senior night, which is nice because she’s been hobbled the last week,” DiMattia said. “I didn’t know how long she’d be able to play today. She came out and played well for having a bum ankle.”
Not to be outdone, the Skippers clamped down on defense and hit some big shots of their own to close out the third quarter trailing, 37-32.
“Fairport didn’t give up,” DiMattia said. “They kept coming but we kept answering.”
Ronee Collins added five points for the Huskies and Cassie Nguyen and Julianna Pollack finished with four and three, respectively.
Nora Urban and Kara McFadden both scored in double figures for the Skippers with 13 and 10, respectively. Olivia Eldridge and Maria Sterringer both contributed with eight points.
