By Christopher Shaban
EAGLE TIMES STAFF
CLAREMONT — The Stevens lady Cardinals opened the season with a blowout in a convincing 64-7 win over Inter Lakes as seven different Cardinals scored in the first quarter.
After spending a bit of time locking horns with Division II opponents, the Cardinals were put back where they belong in Division III according to school population numbers. With Steve Condon taking the reins, the Cards looked for real with a deep senior class mixed in with solid junior and sophomore play plus a surprise gift from Spain.
Right from the opening tap, the Cardinals looked to run with Kiley Bundy setting the pace the at point.
“We wanted to make sure we jumped out quickly and looked to push the ball up the court whenever we could,” Condon said.
The Cardinals were led by Alyssa Paquette (14 points), Bundy (10 points), and exchange student Joar Figal dropping 11 points in her debut as the Cardinals were clicking on all cylinders. Tara Sullivan and Zahna Rice were tearing the glass apart which led to offensive rebounds galore as Inter Lakes had no answers.
“We just wanted to set the tone early and play our game,” said senior Molly Derosier. “Our effort was there tonight and it was a total team win.”
By the half, the Lakers still hadn’t found the scoreboard as Condon cleared his bench and dropped into zone for the remainder of the game.
“We wanted a strong start and it really felt great to have fans in the gym after last season,” Paquette said.
The Paquette family has been hosting Figal this school year and her first impressions of American basketball left her searching for words.
“It is so exciting to have spectators cheering us on. At home, we only have club sports with very little fans at our games,” Figal said. “This is a great feeling and everyone on the team has made me feel very welcome. I am so excited to be apart of the Cardinal team.”
With everyone in the gym rooting the Lakers to get on the scoreboard, it finally happened midway in the third quarter with the game already decided in the first four minutes.
“This is a whole new division for us, it’s been a while since we played these teams and it will be a learning curve for a while. We came out and played our game tonight, the pace was just what we wanted and the bench play was just solid,” Condon said. “We did a lot of things well tonight but without a preseason scrimmage we still have so much to work on but it’s a great start.”
Sullivan, Rice, and Derosier all added six points on the night as the Cards will welcome Fall Mountain to the city on Tuesday.
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