Highland girls suffer 8th loss

By Susanna Granieri
Posted 1/8/20

The Highland High School varsity girls basketball team took a tough loss from the Red Hook Raiders this past Friday, sinking them deeper into their losing record.

Starting for the Raiders were …

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Highland girls suffer 8th loss

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The Highland High School varsity girls basketball team took a tough loss from the Red Hook Raiders this past Friday, sinking them deeper into their losing record.

Starting for the Raiders were eighth graders Liv Christensen and Katie Boyd, along with sophomores McKenzie Simmons, Kayla Dykas and Morgan Tompkins. The Huskies introduced an older lineup other than freshman Katie Dauenheimer, putting juniors Adrianna Scalo, Kayleigh Kaplan, Icis Roman and Dehanna Stevens on the court.

The Raiders won the tip-off, earning possession immediately entering the game. Tompkins set the tone of the game with a 3-pointer at 7:46, only 14 seconds into the first quarter.

Stevens answered with a layup at 6:59, but the Raiders caught momentum.

The Huskies struggled with ball handling for most of the first few minutes of the first quarter, allowing turnovers to the Raiders who capitalized on their mistakes. By 5:17, the Raiders were up 7-2.

After a foul from Tompkins, Stevens sunk a free throw and a layup, while freshman sub Addie McDowell followed behind to swish a 3-pointer at 3:50. Now leading 8-7, the Raiders returned the Huskies intensity.

Boyd and Dykas both sunk two-pointers before Dykas was fouled and tallied on a free-throw. After a foul on Tompkins from McDowell, Tompkins sunk one-of-two free-throw attempts. Huskies Head Coach Jim Malak called a time out at 1:45 in hopes to slow down the game.

Raiders sub, junior Grace Hennig, followed Dauneheimer with two more points at 2:35. Although Scalo earned two more for the Huskies, with a free throw from Roman, they trailed 17-11.

The Raiders dominated the second quarter, earning 7 points in the first minute and 40 seconds. Leading 24-11, the only offense shown from the Huskies was Dauneheimer sinking a 3-pointer at 5:30.

Hennig forced forward with powerful shots that wouldn’t seem to go in, but they did. At 5:41, 5:20 and 4:58 Hennig sunk shot after shot. After a time out for Red Hook at 4:07, Christensen and Simmons followed sinking layups. The Huskies were behind 34-14 going into the half.

The half-time locker room conversation put some fire behind Highland, as Roman started it off with a layup at 7:15.Tompkins earned two points and sank a free-throw for the Raiders, but Roman wasn’t stepping down. After multiple missed shot attempts in the first half, Roman earned another two for the Huskies at 6:20.

Hennig took control of the turnover and scored two points at 5:51, and after a blocking foul from the Huskies, she earned one more free throw. Roman earned her own foul and gained two free-throw attempts, sinking both of them.

At 4:46, Dykas shot a 3-pointer and sophomore sub Mia Ramsey earned two at 4:18, pushing the Huskies into a time-out. This did not stop the Raiders, as Boyd and Dykas tallied on two-pointers while Tompkins came in with another 3-pointer.

Junior Emma Beck was fouled during a shot attempt at 2:32, earning only one-of-two free-throw points. Dauenheimer kept her consistency and earned a 3-pointer at 2:02. Boyd and Tompkins both sank two free-throws, while freshman Emma Thompson subbed in and earned a two-pointer for the Huskies.

Eighth grader Grace Koehler entered the game and sunk a 3-pointer with 26 seconds left in the quarter, her only contribution to the offense. The Raiders now led the Huskies by almost 30 points, 56-29.

Earning only five points in the fourth quarter, the Raiders proved their dominance over the Huskies. Tompkins earned six points, seventh grader Emily Kent earned three points, while Hennig earned another two. Christensen earned two, Ramsey earned a free throw, and junior sub Kate Kelly tallied two for the Raiders with 35.6 seconds remaining in the game. The Raiders defeated the Huskies 72-34.

The Red Hook Raiders needed this win in order to get their record to .500, as they are now 3-3.

“They are a really good team that hustles hard,” Boyd said.

“But today we worked well together with communication and teamwork to really earn the win.”

On the bittersweet end, the Huskies have worked to better their game, but with their record now being 1-8, Highland has some work to do.

“We took a step back in all facets of the game either on offense or defense. We just didn’t play well and the game did not go our way,” Malak said. “We’re young so we can learn from it by looking in the mirror and trying to do better next time. I can put myself in there too and do a better job of coaching and making sure my players know what I want from them in the future.”