Point guard aids Raiders to third straight win
By: Justin Feil
Ica Morales certainly isn’t the biggest player on the basketball court for the Hun School girls’ team, but the diminutive point guard’s role is undeniably big and a big reason that the Raiders are harboring huge postseason hopes.
"Her job more or less is to be smart enough to get the ball to whoever’s open, not force the ball and she has to be smart enough to know when to stick the open shot," said Hun coach Bill Holup. "She has to run our offense and identify defenses and make sure we get the ball to the open player. Over the last couple of games, she’s gotten better at that."
Morales scored just two points, but fed Shantee Darrian for four of her six assists to help Darrian to a game-high 25 points as the Raiders cruised by cross-town rival Princeton Day School, 59-32, on Monday.
"As a junior, and since I’m a point guard, more people look up to me," said Morales, who also had four steals Monday. "I have to set the tone of the game."
Hun established the tone early against the Panthers with steal after steal. Six of Darrian’s first eight points came off of PDS turnovers as Hun improved to 12-6, and won their third straight game since losing to Hopewell Valley the Saturday before.
"Everybody was pretty upset about that Saturday," said Morales who is third on the team in scoring. "Everyone wanted to work hard and come out with a big win. We didn’t want to just win by five points. We knew PDS is Prep A this year and we had to get a win for the standings."
The Raiders, who host Hill 6 p.m. Saturday, will then play Lawrence on Monday before moving into the tournament-portion of the season with the Prep A tournament, Mid-Atlantic Prep League tournament and Mercer County Tournament.
"When I look at our record with six losses, it kind of seems like a lot, but a lot of them were close," Morales said. "Two of them were in overtime and even our loss to Rutgers Prep was really pretty close for a while. Coming into states, and MAPL and Mercer Counties, we’re working on our offense against the zone and everyone seems pretty ready. I’m confident in our team. We’ll keep working hard."
Hard work is all that Morales has done after each season to prepare for the next. She came into this season with more polished skills and a greater sense of leadership.
"In general, since I know besides being a returning starter I’m a junior captain, I know I have to step up," she said. "I come to the games the same way. I want to win."
Sometimes that has meant passing the ball more, sometimes shooting it more. She’s doing both better this season than ever before.
"I was a little intimidated, especially freshman year," Morales said. "About a quarter of the way through last year, I felt better. I’ve stepped up more as a scoring threat. Having Shantee helps. I like to pass and she likes to pass. It’s good to have that for a team.
"I’m definitely looking for my shot more. It got to the point last year where defenders wouldn’t play me. It makes our offense better if I’m more of a threat. Then the defense has to work more. If they come play me, my teammates are open."
Holup likes having an experienced point guard in Morales, who’s improved each season. Part of that experience shows in that she’s not just passing the ball, but hitting the open shots when it counts.
"She’s much more confident," Holup said. "She’s more aggressive. She’s not shy about taking the shot when she’s open. She had two or three threes against Lawrenceville and whenever they had a score, she or Shantee made a shot to keep us ahead. That was huge."
Morales’ play helped Hun build a 30-17 halftime lead against the Panthers, but weren’t comfortable until a 17-4 third-quarter edge gave them complete control.
"I didn’t think we had problems scoring because we had 30 points," Holup said, "but 13 points was way too close. We needed to step it up really at the defensive end. We stepped it up a notch in the second half and played better help defense. We pressured them into some tougher shots."
The goal now is to make that defensive effort as consistently present as the offensive effort has been. The Raiders will need strong play at both ends come tournament time.
"We’re still a young team," said Holup, who has one senior starter. "But by this point, that’s not an excuse when we have a problem. We have to do the right things to make sure we’re successful. Talent-wise we have the ability. Mentally do we have it is what I’m questioning still."
Morales believes that more than the physical or mental ability, the togetherness of the Raiders will help carry them through the impending tougher games. It’s an area that has grown since the season began and figures to keep building even after this year.
"Seeing how the team has new faces, it’s good that the chemistry has gotten better," Morales said. "Everyone’s together. If someone’s down, we try to pick them up. That’s what’s carrying the team. We’re staying together for the next year and it’s a lot more positive than it’s been."
Top to bottom, the Hun girls’ basketball team is getting big contributions. Some of the biggest come from their smallest player on the court, Ica Morales, who’s enjoying a solid junior campaign in her biggest season yet.