WATERBURY – The Holy Cross girls basketball team had cut Northwest Catholic’s lead to one point to open the second half of the game between two of the state’s top teams, both undefeated, on Monday.
Then the Caspers went to work.
Samantha, a freshman, hit a 3. Her sister, junior Abby Casper, had back-to-back baskets. Samantha drained another 3. The Caspers went on a 10-3 run and just like that, the lead was up to nine.
Abby, who leads Northwest Catholic in scoring, scored 15 of her 20 points in the second half. Samantha hit four of her five 3-pointers in the second half. And two-time state champion Northwest Catholic (13-0) remained unbeaten with a 64-53 win over Holy Cross (11-1), last year’s Class L runner-up.
“They complement each other really well,” Northwest Catholic coach Alison Connors said. “They look for each other on the offensive end. They know the other one’s going to do something before it happens.
“Samantha tonight was able to knock down those 3s when we needed them and it gave Abby some room to work on the inside.”
Abby, who averages 21 points per game, had struggled offensively in the first half but Northwest held a 25-22 lead at halftime.
“I wasn’t really frustrated at halftime, knowing we had the lead,” Abby said. “Everyone else was playing well. Everyone was hitting shots.”
Maeve Staunton, who scored 12 points, had eight in the first half for Northwest, which won the Class MM championship last year and the Class S title in 2023. Lilyan Johnson had five.
Maeve Staunton hits a 3 late in the first half, Northwest Catholic leads Holy Cross 25-22 at halftime #ctgb pic.twitter.com/ExOokS2F06
— Lori Riley (@lrileysports) January 20, 2025
But there was a noticeable difference in Abby Casper, who is already a 1,000-point scorer as a junior, in the second half.
“We made an adjustment on how she was guarding (Holy Cross post player Quinn Barry).” Connors said. “Instead of fronting her and not having any help side, she went to the backside and took a step off and that made a difference.
“She was able to play off the ball a little more and make things happen.”
Abby had eight points in the third quarter and Northwest held a 50-39 lead heading into the fourth.
“I think I picked up with how they were playing me,” Abby said. “I think they ended up changing their defender. I knew I wanted to post up this game, I wanted to get those shots because I was one of the tallest people on the court. So my plan was to try to get in the paint and get my points that way.”
The two sisters didn’t play together on the same team all that much growing up.
“We would train together,” Abby said. “We played one year in middle school. But this is like the first real time (they’ve played together). It’s awesome. I’ve been looking forward to it since (her) freshman year. I’m super excited to have her out there. I trust her to shoot and knock down her shots and play good defense.”
Playing a tough opponent on the road didn’t bother Samantha that much.
“I was nervous, but I knew coming into this, I had to do what I had to do,” she said.
The two may have not played together formally but grew up playing against each other. Abby is 6 feet tall; she used to be able to block her sister’s shots.
“Now I barely do, because she’s figured out some moves and how to get around that,” Abby said. “She’s come a long way from the start of the season to now.”