BRINGING HER A-GAME: Hun School girls’ basketball player AJ Carpenter heads to the hoop last Wednesday as Hun hosted Freire Charter (Pa.). Sophomore transfer guard Carpenter scored 21 points in the game to help Hun prevail 91-42. The Raiders, who fell 54-47 to Oak City Prep (N.C.) last Sunday in the Slinky Showcase in the Bronx, N.Y. to move to 3-3, will be heading to Washington, D.C., this weekend to play in the She Got Game Classic. At that event, Hun will play Orangeville Prep (Canada) on December 12, Kimball Union Academy (N.H.) on December 13, and TPLS Christian Academy (Va.) on December 14. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)
By Bill Alden
AJ Carpenter didn’t waste any time setting the pace for the Hun School girls’ basketball team as it hosted Freire Charter (Pa.) last Wednesday.
Sophomore transfer point guard Carpenter zipped through and around the Freire defense, scoring eight points in the first three minutes of the contest to help Hun jump out to a 13-5 lead.
“I was really just looking to get it and go,” said Carpenter. “We knew we could beat this team off the dribble. We were really looking to just push it up the floor. I think our steals in the beginning just really helped us out there.”
After getting outscored 19-16 in the second quarter, the Raiders picked up the intensity in the third, putting together a 29-2 quarter on the way to a 91-42 win.
“We run something called buzz and it is a lot of trapping,” said Carpenter, reflecting on the third quarter run. “I think we did that well. We had communication and we all attacked it at the same time. We worked really well together.”
Carpenter worked well with backcourt running mate and fellow sophomore Meso Nwobu in the win.
“It is great to have another guard on the court,” said Carpenter, who ended up with 21 points, six assists, and six steals in the win. “We are both very fast, there is a lot of chemistry there too.”
In Carpenter’s view, the team developing a chemistry collectively.
“We definitely have more of a flow, we are understanding our plays a lot more,” said Carpenter. “We are working a lot faster than we did before. I think we are really locked in and focused this season.”
Showing her focus, Carpenter played through pain against Freire.
“I sprained my finger,” said Carpenter, who was holding a bag of ice on her right hand after the game. “It was a bit of a challenge but I got through it.”
While coming to Hun from the New Orleans, La. area was a challenge for Carpenter, she has made a smooth transition.
“My brother (Deke) was committed here for football and they said their star point guard (Gabby D’Agostino) had torn her ACL and asked if I was willing to come and help out,” said Carpenter, who previously played at Mandeville High.
“I said sure. It is great, it is a big change. It is a lot of help that I have my family supporting me and my brother here with me too.”
On the court, Carpenter has been finding her voice. “I try and vocalize a lot. I try to lead our group especially since we are all pretty young,” said Carpenter. “We are a team full of sophomores. I think it is important to have a lot of chemistry and connect with my teammates. I think just becoming my point guard self, focusing on starting our plays and controlling the pace of the game.”
Hun head coach Sean Costello liked the fast-paced play he got from his team in the win over Freire.
“AJ and Meso did great, they defend well, they shared the basketball,” said Costello. “Defensively our energy was great. It is a young team so it was fun to watch.”
In has been fun for Costello to watch his backcourt pair of Carpenter and Nwobu. Complementing Carpenter’s game, Nwobu contributed 20 points, four assists, and seven steals.
“She is a little different player than Gabby,” said Costello. “AJ is fantastic. I think the team as a whole had figured out how we want to play and now it is more about tweaking. Meso has taken a big jump in a week. She has just figured out a little bit that she can do some more things than just shoot the basketball. Now she is attacking the rim and is working on defense. She is a really good player.”
Senior guard Addi McNally also had a really good game against Freire, scoring six points with three assists, six rebounds, and 11 steals.
“I thought Addi McNally had a really good game,” said Costello. “She didn’t score a ton of points but she made some unbelievable passes. She played really high energy defense.”
In the frontcourt, sophomores Jayla Williams and Mary Tresler displayed their inside-out game on Wednesday. Willams scored 15 points and had eight
rebounds while Tresler posted a double-double with 23 points and 15 rebounds.
“They can both step away a little bit and shoot it which is nice matchup wise,” said Costello. “They work inside too. It makes us flexible.”
In Costello’s view, the team’s performance against Freire was a step forward.
“We are young so there are some ups and downs within the game but I think they figured it out and it was great,” said Costello, whose team fell 54-47 to Oak City Prep (N.C.) last Sunday in the Slinky Showcase in the Bronx, N.Y. to move to 3-3 and will be heading to
Washington, D.C., this weekend to play in the She Got Game Classic. “I think we need to keep the energy that we had. I keep telling them we need to be more efficient on offense. We had some open possessions and if we turn it over or take some bad shots against good teams, that is going to hurt.”
Carpenter, for her part, believes the Raiders are figuring things out.
“I think we just need to keep our tempo fast paced,” said Carpenter. “We need to communicate a lot more on the court and just vocalize to each other how we want to start off the play and engage in any action. That is how we should do it.”