With their sights set on a deep playoff push this year, the Harrison Huskies know that they will need to stay focused—and healthy—as the regular season comes to a close. On Feb. 5, the Huskies got a reminder of that fact, as they needed a strong second half push to down league foe Pelham.
But despite a minor hiccup, head coach Louis Kail believes his team might be peaking at just the right time with the playoff tournament about to begin.
Harrison got off to a bit of a shaky start on Saturday morning, heading into halftime with just a 15-13 lead against a Pelicans team it had beaten by 19 points in their first meeting on Dec. 9. But the Huskies roared back after in the second half—led by Olivia Fernandez who registered 12 of her game-high 16 points in the third and fourth quarters—to record a decisive 42-28 victory.
According to Kail, a variety of factors led to Harrison’s early game struggles, but the Huskies’ resilience eventually shined through.
“It’s playing on a Saturday morning at 11 o’clock, you’re a little tired, it’s Senior Day which is always emotional. Your lineups change, your warmups change, your day changes and Pelham came out and played hard,” said Kail. “It’s a combination of all of those things that led to a slow start.”
The win—which improved Harrison’s record to 14-3—was an especially important one, given that the Huskies have been bitten by the injury bug over the last few weeks. Rotational mainstays Abby Trotta and Mia Strazza had been sidelined in recent games, during a span that saw the Huskies suffer losses to Ursuline and Ardsley. Strazza returned to action against the Pelicans, something Kail believes will be a boost to the team moving forward.
“It’s extremely important, today was [Mia’s] first day back so there are some struggles that that we have to work through,” he said. “Different lineups, different people playing, and we’re still trying to get healthy. Abby’s still out, and we have bumps and bruises that people are playing though.”
Those injuries, added Kail, have given other Harrison players a chance to shine in new roles as the team has been forced to adapt on the fly
“People have stepped up and we’ve been playing hard,” he said. “Our bench is getting smaller and smaller so we’re asking for more and more.”
The Huskies will play twice more before their regular season finale against Port Chester on Feb. 12, but following the win over Pelham, Kail was quick to shine a light on the contributions of senior star Gabby Marraccini, a longtime Harrison star who suffered a season-ending injury in the season opener. Marraccini—who has been a part of more wins in the program’s history than any other Harrison player—has been a vital presence for the team despite being unable to suit up, explained Kail.
“I had tears in my eyes, I I’ve coached for 12 years now and she’s been with me for six of them,” he said. “[Gabby] means the absolute world, she’s changed the face of our culture here at Harrison. Obviously, and the way her season ended is tragic, but she’s been so involved, she’s been such a positive voice and I couldn’t be more proud of her.”
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