As a team with high aspirations for the coming campaign, Harrison wasted little time getting going this winter. Taking on Class AA power White Plains in their season-opener, the veteran Huskies put the rest of Section 1 on notice, authoring a 61-44 victory over the Tigers to kick off what many believe will be a fruitful run.
Harrison’s veteran leaders set the pace from the outset, as Olivia Fernandez and Stella Perini led all scorers with 18 points apiece while Mia Strazza added 16 of her own to shoulder the lion’s share of the Huskies’ scoring on the night. Head coach Louis Kail said that having such a seasoned group—one that has played together for the last several years—is a definite asset, especially early in the season as other squads are still figuring out their chemistry.
“A lot of us have been together for a really long time and they’ve taught me, especially this season, I have to let go a little bit,” said Kail. “They came out today and ran a baseline out-of-bounds play they put in on their own before the game and I trust them implicitly with things like that.”
But if he trusts his players to understand the offensive concepts that help the team thrive, he said he was equally impressed with the team’s toughness against a rugged White Plains team. Perini—who took three charges on the night—may have been a standout in that regard, but the rest of the Huskies followed suit, refusing to back down in a hard-fought contest.
“I was very happy with the physicality we showed today,” said Kail. “You don’t always know if you’re going to get that, especially against a team like White Plains, but they all really stepped up today.”
With their first win behind them, the Huskies will look to keep rolling as the season gets underway. On Saturday, they will host a solid Pelham team before traveling to Wappingers to take on Roy C. Ketcham on Dec. 18. During the break, Harrison will head upstate to play three games against non-section opponents in Elmira, NY.
“It was a good start today, but there are always things we can work on,” said Kail. “There is some execution stuff, some fundamental stuff; we’re heading up to play some good competition in Elmira and I think that’s going to be a really good team building experience and afterwards we’ll get a better idea of where we’re at.”
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