Baldwin defense forcing the issue

After 10 games, Baldwin opponents have a good idea about what’s coming upcourt, but that doesn’t mean they’ve been able to devise ways to chip away at the pressure-packed 32 minutes that they will face from the Lady Bruins defense. In knocking off MacArthur, 52-21, last Friday, Baldwin improved to 9-1 overall (4-0 in Conference AA-II) while holding the Lady Generals to single-digit point totals in every quarter, and just seven total in the entire second half.

“The girls understand the importance of defense and buy into it,” coach Tom Catapano said. “They realize that if you work hard on defense you will be successful.

“You can do drills until you’re blue in the face, but the girls really take pride in playing defense.”

Junior point guard Alex Hampton paced the offensive attack with a game-high 18 points and also added three steals, while senior forward Katie Greene added 10 points. “Offensively she played very well, and that’s the best she’s played offensively all season,” Catapano said of Hampton, who had a pair of threes among her eight baskets. “It’s the best she’s shot the ball.”

Greene, meanwhile, is one of the Lady Bruins’ key seniors and her jump shot has become a huge weapon against teams that try to use a zone defense. Greene led the team with 14 points in a 50-23 victory over Hicksville on Jan. 4. “Most teams start in a zone but we run a couple of [plays for her], she hits a couple of shots and they’re out of the zone,” Catapano said.

While the defense has been the driving force for Baldwin, the offense hasn’t taken a backseat. Hampton and Greene have been the heavy lifters for the most part, but there have also been consistent contributions from senior guard Keira Corbin, who’s averaging 11 points per game, senior Danielle Scheers, an excellent shooter, and juniors Amber Harrison and Ayanna Hudson. Harrison has been the most versatile Lady Bruin and perhaps one of the toughest for an opponent to track on the floor. There have been times where she’s spelled Hampton at the point, and others where she’s worked in the post at power forward. Corbin scored eight points last Friday, while Scheers had five, including a three-pointer, and Harrison had four.

“We haven’t had one [player] score more than 20 points in a game,” Catapano said. “But we have a lot of kids that can score in the 10- to 19-point range. And it’s hard for teams to key on us.”

Baldwin, in the midst of a weeklong break from the Conference AA-II schedule, hosts Suffolk County private-school power St. Anthony’s in a scrimmage this Friday with the tipoff scheduled for 6 p.m. at the middle school. The Lady Bruins return to conference play on Tuesday with a road trip to Herricks for a 6:30 p.m. start.