By: Ed Morrone
PHILADELPHIA--St. Hubert had already played four games on its schedule heading into Tuesday’s tilt at Little Flower; however, the day did mark a couple of firsts for the Bambies.
For starters, it was the team’s first league game of the young season, a prime opportunity to grab an early share of first place in the Catholic League. It was also senior forward Cassidy Ruk’s first game of the season, one she was happy to oblige in making a strong opening impression.
Ruk posted nine points, seven rebounds and two steals in St. Hubert’s balanced 51-19 victory in which all 10 Bambie players scored at least two points. Ruk, returning from a concussion as one of only two seniors on the roster, was thrilled to be back out there with her teammates.
“I’m really happy,” she said after the win. “It feels really good being out there again. I missed it a lot. As a team, we played really good defense and held them to a small amount of points. Everything we’ve been working on in practice clicked, and our chemistry is good.”
Said chemistry was notable, as the Bambies were in sync from start to finish. They led 14-2 after one and 30-10 at halftime, smothering Little Flower with strong rebounding, aggressive drives to the basket (St. Hubert made 15 of 26 free throw attempts) and stingy defense, with Ruk and company racking up 16 steals in 32 minutes of game action.
Junior forward Payton Pugh added 10 points and eight rebounds to lead the Bambies (3-2, 1-0), while fellow junior forward Sarah Spaeth chipped in with eight points and five boards. Guards Emma McNamee and Mia Tobin had four and three steals, respectively.
“We should expect to have many more high-intensity games like that,” Ruk said of this year’s iteration of the Bambies. “If we can play like we did today going forward, we’ll come out with a lot of W’s.”
Little Flower vs. St. Hubert's Video Highlights
St. Hubert’s head coach Dave Schafer was thrilled with his team’s effort on both ends of the court, and the veteran coach was even more pleased to have Ruk back out there. He noted that the senior forward fits the team’s modus operandi of getting to the foul line at will; although Ruk only made two trips to the line in this one, her teammates fed off her aggression, the same type that allowed her to get to the charity stripe 160 times as a junior.
“She’s our bull inside,” Schafer said. “She means a lot to us because she opens up the lane. Cassidy gets great rebounding position and she goes to the basket well. We need that, and having her back as one of the two seniors (along with MacKenzie Pugh) is big. We’re young, but they’re getting it and buying in.”
For the first time this season, the Catholic League is split into two divisions with St. Hubert, Little Flower, Hallahan, Bishop McDevitt, Conwell-Egan and Lansdale Catholic occupying one. Each division team will play each other twice, with designs on leveling the competition throughout the season. So far so good for the Bambies, as Schafer said he couldn’t remember the first time the school was in first place in the division, even after only one game.
For Little Flower, Tuesday represented a bumpy start to league play. However, unlike the Bambies, the Sentinels are experienced, boasting five seniors on the roster (guards Natalie O’Neill, Amylynn Owen and class president Maura Budd, and forwards Kelly Bauer and Emmerson McCabe), and second-year head coach Maureen Buchter is going to lean on the group to right the ship.
“Our outlook is going to depend on these five seniors,” Buchter said. “Today was our first game, and now we know we have to work a little harder in practice. They know that. Those five lead by example and set the tone, and I’m behind them 100 percent.”
St. Hubert's vs. Little Flower
O’Neill led Little Flower with seven points, and she insisted that the 32-point defeat wouldn’t deter her team from believing in its ability to bounce back strong.
“The mindset is stay positive,” she said. “We have a next play in the next game to focus on. We’ll look at what we did wrong and put it together, just focus on fixing our mistakes. Tomorrow’s a new day.”
League play continues tonight as Little Flower travels to Bishop McDevitt for a 6:30 p.m. game.
St. Hubert’s has a home game tonight against Conwell Egan at 7:00 p.m.