Monday’s season opener didn’t go well for the Cardinal Huskies but they didn’t let that poor performance carry over into game two.
Cardinal dominated from start to finish in a 50-26 win at Newbury on Thursday.
“We didn’t' play the way we wanted on Monday so we just decided to let that game go and focus on the next one,” said Cardinal coach Luke Kruse. “The girls responded really, really well.”
The success was due to better focus and energy on both ends of the court.
Cardinal’s offense spread the ball around to create open shots and on defense the Huskies pressured Newbury’s ball handlers throughout the game.
“We talked about making the extra pass. I don't know if we had more than one or two assists on Monday but we had eight to 10 tonight,” Kruse said. “Defensively we focused on keying in and switching up our defenses to keep Newbury on their toes and the girls did an awesome job communicating with each other so when we changed our defensive scheme they were getting to the right spots. We never really let Newbury get comfortable when they got the ball and got a lot of turnovers and fast break points because the girls communicated really well.”
Delaney Leichtman finished with a game-high 15 points, Ashley Gubanyar contributed with nine and Camille Cummins, Hanna Traggiai and Allissa Nevison each scored six.
Leichtman, who hit 5 of 8 free throws and tied Cummins for a team-high with seven rebounds, credited her teammates for their overall effort on both ends of the court.
“We played together and as a team tonight,” she said. “We were focusing on our defense to earn the ball on the offensive end, as well as our shots falling tonight and good ball movement.”
In addition to her seven rebounds and six points, Cummins led the team with seven steals and was an emotional leader on the court.
“Camille did a great job down low and working on defense,” Kruse said. “She had a great all-around game and was an energetic presence out there and keeping our team with the right energy all night. That was definitely the best varsity game she has played in her two years.”
Cardinal returns to action on Saturday in a non-conference home game against Bristol.
