FRESH MEADOWS, NY- As a team with championship aspirations this season, St. Francis Prep got their season started on Wednesday with a non-league clash against a formidable PSAL foe in Truman.
It wasn't the prettiest or best performance by the Terriers, especially early on as they allowed the Mustangs to hang around the game for a bit over three quarters, but once the guards started to get their rhythm going for St. Francis Prep, they quickly put the game out of reach.
MacKayla Scarlett '20 paced with 13 points for the Terriers as a strong close to the game helped St. Francis Prep push the lead to double digits, and ultimately a 52-34 victory.
The depth of the play in backcourt for the Terriers was obvious early on as Binghamton commit Cassidy Roberts '19had the ball in her hands but was never in trouble against any sort of Truman pressure. Once they got across halfcourt though St. Francis Prep wasn't doing enough to make sure they put the Mustangs away.
Defensively they were clamping down on the likes of Ariana Seawell '21 and Shakira Hester '20 inside as Terriers 6'4" forward JeAnna Cunningham '20 was controlling the paint and doing a solid job on the glass, but the shots offensively were not what they needed to be.
Getting off a couple of good looks early was Destiny Howell '20 who was able to show off her range, while Scarlett did get to the rim on a number of occasions and finish, but the Terriers were only up 25-15 at the half, something that didn't make Scarlett all that happy.
"I feel like we started slow and we have to get out of that, we to start faster and play better early on," Scarlett admitted.
St. Francis Prep head coach Kerri White backed up her guard's comments as she wanted to see a quicker start from her group as well, and Truman actually was able to cut the deficit early in the third quarter to 28-21 after a made three ball by Amber Been '19.
Right after that though it seemed as if the Terriers buckled down and started to not force shots, move the ball around better, and get overall better looks which helped push them on a 10-0 run, and open a 17-point lead heading to the 4th.
That lead allowed White to get many of her bench players in, giving them valuable early season minutes and not allowing the lead to chip away. Brooke Phillips '19 was able to even hit a three from the wing that got the Terriers starters who were on the bench off their feet in excitement.
It was only game one of many in this long season but St. Francis Prep was able to do what they wanted to do and get win number one under their belt as they pulled away down the stretch for the 52-34 win.
Leading the offense was Scarlett as she had 13 points in a balanced offensive effort for St. Francis Prep as the only scorer in double figures, though Howell and Amaya Richberg '20 each had 7 points apiece for the Terriers in the victory.
In defeat for Truman it was Been who had 13 points to pace the way for the Mustangs in what was their first game of the season as well as they look to prove to be a team who could make a run at a PSAL Class AA championship appearance.
A game to build on, the schedule will only get tougher throughout the season for St. Francis Prep as they have a grueling non-league slate again this year, and while it wasn't a perfect performance, White says she will leave the gym happy knowing that her team she believes is headed in the right direction.
"We always try and work on something so we will go back in and analyze it but overall I'm happy," White said. "We just want to keep getting better every game."
