Although Clarks Summit University may be known as the Defenders, the Cabrini Cavaliers seemed to show them what defense really is in their CSAC game last night. At 6:00pm on their home court, in the Nearny Field House, the Cavs played hard and defeated CSAC rival Clarks Summit 91-31. The Cavaliers have now moved one step closer to a .500 record with the win, sitting at 3-4 on the season and 2-0 in conference play. The Defenders have now dropped to 0-7 on the season.
Sophomore forward Nomi Washington started the game off strong by making the first basket for the Cavaliers.
“I started off the season not being able to play our first four games due to an ankle injury,” Washington said. “Now I’ve been trying to get back into the motion and come out ready with the mindset of having a head start against the opposing team every game.”
By the end of the game, Washington tallied 11 points along with six rebounds, four assists, four steals and three blocked shots.
One big motivator for Washington’s success is having the eyes of her older sister, Amber Keys, on her from the sidelines every game. Keys played on Cabrini’s women’s basketball team from 2011-2015, alongside current assistant coach Megan Decker.
“Cabrini is like my family,” Keys said. “I love coming out to watch my sister every game, and her team has been carrying on the winning tradition of Cabrini very well.”
“I’m not really in her shadow,” Washington said about playing immediately after her sister graduated. “I just know she’s been through it all, so her support and advice on everything helps me a lot.”
Washington now looks at her sister’s face on the wall of Dixon and hope that she can one day get to that same level of achievement as well.
The Cavaliers dominated the game with suffocating defense, holding the Defenders to just 19% shooting for the game. The Cavaliers also took advantage of a turnover-prone Defenders team that coughed up the ball 32 times. Three different Cabrini players totaled four steals, while there were only three who didn’t record a steal at all.
The Defenders only scored in double digits in third quarter. The Cavaliers offense on the other hand only had eight turnovers on the game and overcame a rough shooting night from behind the arc by controlling the paint with their rebounding, ball movement, and a very productive bench. Five different players scored in double figures, with Cabrini’s second leading scorer, junior Kate Skalski, putting up a game-high 18 points.
Freshman forward Meghan Matthews impressed head coach Kate Pearson with her first minutes of the season coming against Clarks Summit. “It was her first time getting into live action and she did a lot of really good things,” Pearson said. Matthews had a successful collegiate debut by scoring 14 points on 5-8 shooting.
Washington also noticed the strong play of fellow sophomore forward Gaby Jones. “She can box out really well and steps up and helps conduct the court when a lot of the older players aren’t in,” Washington said. Jones added 10 points, six board, four steals and three assists.
Seeing the Cavalier’s lead 52-12 by the end of the first half excited fans on the sidelines, including dedicated game goers Bob and Barbara. Bob worked for Cabrini’s maintenance team for 25 years. While he may have retired in 2005, his love for Cabrini and its students most definitely has not.
“My wife and I live just five minutes away in King of Prussia and now come out to every sports game that we can,” he shared. “I love watching the students and sports teams progress. It’s also nice to keep in touch with people and see old acquaintances at the games.”
The Cabrini defense never allowed the Defenders to get into any rhythm, as they earned a 51-29 rebound advantage and turned 23 offensive boards into 20 second chance points. Their 51 rebounds marked a season high, in addition to their 19 steals and 31 assists. Junior forward Renee Oliver posted a game-high 12 rebounds. Freshman guard Cassidy Gallagher put up a game high six assists.
“Obviously the outcome isn’t what we would want, but my mindset right now is just to improve on something small every day,” Lori Huckaby-Noll, the head coach of Clarks Summit women’s basketball team, said.
“We set small goals each game, such as a rebounding goal, or an assist goal. If we walk away from a game and meet those goals, it’s been successful for us,” Noll said.
Cabrini’s head coach, Kate Pearson looks forward to continuing to lead the Cavaliers to victory during her eighth season as the Cabrini women’s basketball head coach. She knows there is always room for more improvement though.
“From here, we plan to focus on sharing the ball a lot more,” Pearson said. “In this game we had 31 assists, which showed us that any time you can share the ball and be ready to knock down shots, that gives us a better chance of a having a positive outcome in the end.”
“I think one of the reasons why we ended up on top is because we shared the ball a lot, which is different than some of our games,” Washington agreed. “When we do share the ball we play really well.”
The Cavaliers will be heading south for their next two games at the Daytona Beach Shootout. In their first match-up at Daytona Beach, Cabrini will be facing Mount Saint Mary’s College (NY), Tuesday, Dec. 20, at 4 pm.
