Camille Cummins, Ashley Gubanyar, and Hanna Traggiai each scored 10 points to lead Cardinal to a 39-26 non-conference win at Lakeside on Monday, but it was the Huskies defense that made the biggest impact.
Lakeside scored just one two-point field goal in the contest.
“We kind of came out flat tonight and didn’t have as much mental focus as I would have liked but we played a pretty good second half and controlled the defensive tone of the game,” said Cardinal coach Luke Kruse. “I’m happy with the way the girls defended the key. We gave up only one two-point field goal the whole game. The rest were 3-pointers they were forced to take from the outside and some free throws. That’s a pretty telling statistic. We did a nice job defending the paint.”
The Huskies, who improved to 2-0 on the year, led 18-9 at halftime.
Cummins helped increase that lead in the second half as she scored eight of her 10 in the final 16 minutes of play.
“CC had a really nice second half and Ashley did a nice job getting to the rim and drawing fouls,” Kruse said. “CC had a double-double again with 16 rebounds and Ashley had nine rebounds too, so they were getting after the ball, especially in the second half.”
Adriana Naples and Brittni Lawrence each finished with three points, Lauren Dines added a bucket and Abby Geesling pitched in with one point in the win.
“We got to get everybody in the game,” Kruse said. “It was nice to see Lauren Dines and Abby Geesling, two sophomores, get their first varsity points tonight. I was happy everybody got involved.”
After two straight road games to open the year, the Huskies finally have a home game on Saturday against Newbury.
“It’s always good to start the season on a positive note,” Kruse said. “We’re excited to play a home game on Saturday for sure, but I feel good about walking out of two away gyms with victories.”
