On Jan. 6, the Harrison girls basketball team took an auspicious leap into the New Year, using a strong second half to top league foe Pelham 41-34 at home. The Huskies, who battled injuries to key players in the first few games of the season, finally appear to be healthy and seem poised for a surge as they prepare themselves for a deep playoff push.
Harrison struggled early against the Pelicans on Saturday, trailing the visitors 18-14 at halftime before taking control of the game in the third quarter. Sophomore Ashley Stagg led the Huskies’ comeback pacing Harrison with 17 points while Avery LaBarbera (10 points) and Gina Nuvoloni (8 points) also helped the home team close the gap. According to head coach Louis Kail, the Huskies’ slow start was most likely a function of simply getting back into the flow following the team’s winter recess.
“Winter break, that was a long, 12-day hiatus for us, so it took some time for us to settle in,” Kail said. “By the second [quarter], you could tell we were settled in and we started to execute better.”
The momentum from Saturday’s win carried over into Monday, as the Huskies easily dispatched Byram Hills, topping the Bobcats 58-36 behind 20 points from LaBarbera. The win over Byram puts Harrison at 5-4 on the season.
LaBarbera, the standout senior—who earned All-State honors last year, was sidelined for four games early in the season, and Kail believes that her return has been integral to the Huskies resurgence.
“Any time you lose an all-section, all-state player, you’re going to have to ask a little bit more of every kid,” he said. “It gave some of the younger kids a chance to find themselves and I’ve been very happy with the sophomore class, but it always helps to get a player like [LaBarbera] back in the lineup.”
In LaBarbera’s absence, the Huskies got a major contribution from Stagg, who has been the team’s leading scorer. Stagg’s evolution from perimeter threat to an all-around offensive player has been a pleasant surprise for the Huskies this year.
“We knew coming in that she could shoot it, but she was more of a stand-still shooter last year,” Kail said. “But she has worked very hard to improve her game and it has shown so far.”
Harrison will look to stay hot on Jan. 11, when they travel to Rye to take on the rival Garnets. Rye comes into Thursday’s matchup having won seven straight ballgames, and features a bevy of offensive options, lead by sophomore Teaghan Flaherty that will test the Huskies’ up-tempo defense.
“No matter who [Rye head coach Dennis] Hurlie has out there, he always does a phenomenal job,” Kail said. “They’ve got a great team and we are going to need to be ready for that.”
