Raiders set up Peddie doubleheader
By: Justin Feil
Nadine Maeser wasn’t on the last Hun School girls’ basketball team to reach a state final, but that doesn’t mean the senior will be lacking big-game experience when the Raiders take on Peddie in the Prep A final next Wednesday.
Maeser was on the Hun field hockey team that rallied from a slow regular season to reach the Prep A final against Lawrenceville in the fall. Her state finals trip is typical of a Raider squad that showed its big-game experience in racing by Blair, 62-43, in Wednesday’s state semifinal.
"Last time we were in finals was the seniors’ freshman year," said Maeser, who transferred to Hun midway through her sophomore year. "It’s pretty exciting. I experienced that with field hockey. We made it to the finals and lost to Lawrenceville. It was a good experience to come up as the underdog."
Hard as it is to imagine, the Raiders will be the underdog again Wednesday though they sport a 21-1 record against 20-3 Peddie. The teams could meet before the state final when both play in the Mid-Atlantic Prep League tournament at Mercersburg Academy this weekend. Peddie is the top seed. Hun is the No. 2, just as the seedings are for the state tournament.
"We take every game as a big game," Maeser said. "It’s going to be an exciting weekend. We get to go away, stay in a hotel and get pumped up for it. And while we’re at Mercersburg, we have to think about states too.
"We’re 21-1 and that’s the big push. If we go into states with all wins, that will boost us to work harder until we get to states."
And after states, Maeser, like many of her Hun teammates, will switch gears to a spring sport. Maeser will row for the Hun crew team this spring. The senior class is filled with players with high-level experience in a number of sports. Jill Fonseca plays soccer and softball; Ica Morales plays golf; Bis Fries plays lacrosse. They make for an athletic supporting cast for senior Shantee Darrian, who scored 20 points and pulled down at least that many rebounds against Blair.
"That is the epitome of an athlete," said Hun head coach Bill Holup. "They like to compete, whether they’re playing a game of basketball or checkers. There’s a loser and a winner. Most of the girls play multiple sports, and it’s easier to coach athletes than non-athletes.
"They know what it’s like, what it’s like to play in front of a big crowd. They can make adjustments quickly. You can’t replace experience. We have a good combination of it. We have four girls who were freshmen when we went to the finals. Nadine was on the field hockey team that went to the finals. Ica won a state championship in golf. More than half the team knows the pressure of state finals."
But first, the Raiders will take aim at a MAPL crown, a sort of high-pressure tune-up or even a possible preview of the state final this weekend.
"It’s kind of awkward," Holup said. "I would prefer to have MAPLs before states, but we’ll take each game as they come. Most likely, we’ll play Peddie next Wednesday and if we win Saturday, we’ll play them Sunday.
"We’re certainly confident. We gave them a good battle. These games will be on neutral courts. We should have a shot at it."
Holup has no doubts that this is the best team he’s had at Hun. It isn’t just the talent. It’s the fact that so many of them have been playing together for years.
"They’re so much more comfortable with each other," he said. "It makes things easier. They know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. We try to exploit their strengths and stay away from their weaknesses."
Maeser believes that this year’s team is better suited to toppled Peddie. So far, the Raiders have shown enough talent to make otherwise decent teams like Blair look several steps slow.
"Physically, we work hard in every practice," Maeser said. "We’re definitely tighter as a team. We only had one senior last year. We have a lot of seniors now. We have a real strong bond with each other. We see each other on the court and we can find each other for open shots."
Maeser, who scored two points in the win over Blair, isn’t one of the Raiders’ big guns on offense, but it’s all the intangibles that she brings that have made them so good. It seems like each player has a set role with the Raiders, and when each fills that role Hun is hard to beat.
"She does so much of the stuff that does not come up in box scores," Holup said of Maeser. "She sets screens, her all-around hustle and just setting teammates up helps us. You need players to do that. She has the attitude that she will do what it takes to win. We have other girls who can score. She helps us out in other ways."
And just as the Hun girls bring something a little bit different to the basketball team, they bring in bits and pieces from their other athletic experiences. Those experiences will be important as they look for championships this weekend and Wednesday.
"We each take a little bit from our other teams," Maeser said. "Hun has such solid teams. I know I’ve learned things from field hockey and crew, and put them into basketball. We have such good camaraderie and team spirit. You get what you put into it."
The Raiders believe they have put in a championship effort this season. They have state finals experience up and down the lineup. And they have the experience from their first meeting with Peddie. Nadine Maeser and the Hun girls’ basketball team are hoping that’s enough to deliver the MAPL and state titles.