The score was 22-4 Raiders at the end of the first quarter. It was one of those games for the girls varsity basketball team Thursday, Jan. 13 in their 77-27 victory over Plainfield. 

“We knew that it was gonna be a physical game coming in, and we had off for about three weeks,” senior forward Emily Friscia said. “We went in making sure that we focused on the things that we were working on before the break.”

Everything was clicking for the Raiders, who now are 3-1 on the year with their lone loss coming against archrival Westfield on Dec. 23. 

“We came in and we said, ‘this team just beat Union Catholic’ and they’ve been really tough over the years and we just wanted to really focus on our defense,” head coach Ryan McKenna said. 

Sophomore guard Amanda Baylock led the way, scoring 17 points in the first half taking the Raiders into halftime with a 39 point lead. The Raiders’ stifling defense anchored by seniors Ashley DeFrancesco and Friscia was unrelenting all game, holding Plainfield to eight total points in the first half and 27 for the game. 

“We focus a lot on our defense,” Friscia said. “Up top, we’ll make sure that we trap in the corners when necessary, and we always make sure to communicate with one another.”

The Raiders’ extended lead afforded younger players the opportunity to get in-game reps. Sophomore Sophia Catalano finished with seven points; freshman Maggie McNulty finished with fifteen. 

“[We tell the underclassmen to] believe in themselves because we know their potential and they’re doing really great so far,” senior forward Ashley DeFrancesco said. “We’re really fortunate to have their talent on this team.” 

The Raiders look to take the momentum from this game into Saturday’s road matchup against Summit who boasts a 7-1 record. 

“We’ll take a lot of the positive things that we did, especially offensively, but it’s a very different team and we have to prep for them differently like we would anyone else,” McKenna said.