New Hampton girls open with decisive victory

It might be stating the obvious, but Chickasaw head basketball coach Matt Schult was very happy with his team’s defensive effort Monday night at Nashua-Plainfield.    Especially since it was the first outing of the season, the 32-5 halftime lead that turned into a 56-19 New Hampton win was gratifying, and a great game to “shake our rust off.”    “Great communication and defensive positioning led to only allowing 19 points,” said Schult. “We actually had as many steals as we allowed in points at 19.”    All of the Chickasaws played, but only 10 were suited up for the varsity competition.    “No matter what five girls were on the floor, they applied some excellent full-court pressure to frustrate N-P. Offense comes a bit more naturally when we get after it on defense.”    Not that the coach was happy with everything he saw. “We had far too many turnovers (21), but it’s good to get those first game jitters out,” he said. “I know we will learn from those errors, slow down, and be patient on the offensive end.”    The Huskies, under first-year head coach Josh Smith, put a twist in on defense.  For the full details, please see the Nov. 25 Tribune.