NEWPORT – Conrad girls coach John Kulesza said any successful basketball team has to have different gears.
The fifth-ranked Red Wolves put it in overdrive on their home floor Wednesday night and raced away to a 55-42 victory over No. 10 A.I. du Pont, in the regular-season finale for both teams.
“We have some horses, and we can run,” Kulesza said. “We didn’t necessarily say that was what we wanted to do today. But when you come into a game you’re looking for advantages, and that was one of the advantages we had.”
Conrad (19-1) put the pedal to the metal midway through the second quarter, ending the half on an 11-0 run and never looking back. The Red Wolves consistently beat the Tigers (14-6) in transition.
“We had a couple of off days, couldn’t practice because we had a wrestling tournament,” A.I. coach Tracy Howell said. “It kind of really showed that we were tired. We battled maybe the first quarter and a half, and then we kind of lost our steam.”
The Tigers showed some spring early, taking a 15-12 lead on Al’kirah Wilson’s layup with 6:59 left in the second quarter. Then the teams traded 5-0 runs before Conrad found another gear.
Alyssa Faville turned a steal into a layup. Julie Kulesza knocked down a 12-footer. Stefanie Kulesza hit two free throws. Then Faville scored on a fast break, Julie Kulesza made a free throw and Faville struck on another fast break to push the Red Wolves to a 28-20 halftime lead.
“It was really fun,” said Faville, a 5-foot-4 freshman guard. “I knew that I’m the shortest one out there, so I’m obviously not going to get a lot of rebounds. So I normally leak back and hope they pass the ball to me.”
The teams combined for 67 shots in a frenetic first half. Then Conrad increased the pace even more.
Stefanie Kulesza, Faville, and Julie Kulesza scored on consecutive fast breaks to cap a 13-0 run and balloon the Red Wolves’ advantage to 43-25 with 1:29 left in the third quarter.
“We were pushing the ball, getting open fast-break layups,” said Julie Kulesza, who made her final six shots from the field on the way to a game-high 15 points. “That’s what we were focusing on.”
Conrad made a surprising run to the semifinals of the DIAA Girls Basketball Tournament last season. The Red Wolves will catch no one by surprise when this year’s playoffs start next Tuesday, despite starting a sophomore, two freshmen, and two eighth-graders.
“We feel good,” John Kulesza said. “I wish we would continue to do all the little things. I thought we made some mistakes tonight, but that’s our youth. We’re going to do some things, and we’ll do them well at times. Other times, we show our youth.”
Faville, who finished with 14 points, said a win over another ranked team will give the Red Wolves a boost.
“That’s going to give us a lot of confidence, that we beat a really tough team,” she said. “We’re going to come out stronger in the tournament.”
Lauryn Griffin led A.I. with 14 points. Wilson chipped in 10.
Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ
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Conrad’s Julie Kulesza looks for room to pass as she’s defended by A.I.’s Sydney MacDonald in the third quarter of Conrad’s 55-42 win over A.I. at the Conrad School of Science in Newport on Wednesday evening.
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Conrad’s Jordan Rook (No. 15) puts up a shot over A.I.’s Sydney MacDonald (No. 11) in the third quarter of Conrad’s 55-42 win over A.I. at the Conrad School of Science in Newport on Wednesday evening.
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Conrad’s Stefanie Kulesza (No. 44) puts up a shot in front of A.I.’s Sydney MacDonald (No. 11) in the third quarter of Conrad’s 55-42 win over A.I. at the Conrad School of Science in Newport on Wednesday evening.
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Conrad’s Alyssa Faville drives past A.I.’s Sydney MacDonald (left) in the third quarter of Conrad’s 55-42 win over A.I. at the Conrad School of Science in Newport on Wednesday evening.
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A.I.’s Lauryn Griffin puts up a shot over Conrad’s Alyssa Faville in the second quarter of Conrad’s 55-42 win over A.I. at the Conrad School of Science in Newport on Wednesday evening.
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A.I.’s Ber’Nyah Ward-Mayo cuts between Conrad’s Alyssa Faville (left) and Julie Kulesza (right) in the second quarter of Conrad’s 55-42 win over A.I. at the Conrad School of Science in Newport on Wednesday evening.
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Conrad’s Julie Kulesza (right) drives past A.I.’s Ber’Nyah Ward-Mayo (left) in the first quarter of Conrad’s 55-42 win over A.I. at the Conrad School of Science in Newport on Wednesday evening.
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Conrad’s Stefanie Kulesza (right) blocks a shot from A.I.’s Sydney MacDonald in the second quarter of Conrad’s 55-42 win over A.I. at the Conrad School of Science in Newport on Wednesday evening.