Cardinal dropped a 50-34 decision at Harvey on Friday but Huskies coach Luke Kruse saw his team play hard until the end.
That left him confident the Huskies are ready to snap out of their four-game skid.
“We went down swinging tonight,” he said. “We were within five or seven points most of the game then we played the foul game and overplayed the press and they pulled away. I think this game was kind of what we needed even though it wasn’t a win. We hadn’t come out with this focus and preparation in a couple games.”
Despite a size disadvantage the Huskies hung with the Red Raiders for most of the game.
“Our defense played tough,” Kruse said. “They are a team that the size difference is probably the biggest gap of any team we faced. They’re just way, way bigger and stronger but we played tough and we didn’t get knocked around.”
The Huskies, who dropped to 1-4 overall and 0-2 in conference play, trailed just 21-14 at halftime while shooting just over 20-percent from the floor.
“That’s not going to get it done against a team like Harvey,” Kruse said. “They beat Kirtland so they’re definitely a team on the rise. We’re going to have to shoot better than that.”
Haley Adams led the Huskies with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
“She had a nice evening,” Kruse said. “I know she had a couple frustrating games so it’s good to see her break out of that and put some points and rebounds on the board for us.”
Emily Kruse finished with eight points and 10 rebounds and Jess Koches scored nine points and pulled down seven boards.
The Huskies host Kirtland on Friday.
