Niles senior Aneziah Fryer scored a career-high 29 points along with six steals to help the Red Dragons claim a 46-33 win over Hubbard at Niles McKinley High School.

Coach Makayla Butler was pleased with the Red Dragons’ performance.

“We went out, we worked on defense and we worked on our offense,” she said. “We struggled to score sometimes, but we’re getting it done one game at a time.”

Defense proved to be the biggest factor in the early stages of the game, as Niles held Hubbard to only one point during the first quarter.

Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes Hubbard’s Grace Narkum looks to drive to the paint during the first half.

“We were talking a lot more on defense,” Butler said. “That’s the biggest thing, we’ve been implementing that in practice, were we got to talk.

“If we don’t talk, we’re not going to get the steals, we’re not going to score.”

Fryer felt her team’s inside game was key to the her performance.

“I was just trying to play as a team,” Fryer said. “They were leaving me open, so I kept attacking. I drew some fouls.”

She knocked down 18 free throws on 19 attempts, and she believes that a team’s performance at the charity stripe could make or break a game.

“It’s very important, because free throws could win games,” Fryer said. “Last year we lost a couple games because of free throws, so working of free throws is always better to do.”

Butler, whose team is 1-2, thinks Fryer’s work ethic allowed her to have a career night.

“It was magical, it really was,” Butler said. “There’s no other way to put it. She’s going down every night, putting in the work in the gym. She stays after practice, and before practice.”

Hubbard coach Scott Slovesko felt that team battled after a slow first quarter.

“You know, we’re young,” said Slovesko, whose team drops to 0-2. “We have realistically two seniors, and everybody below that. It’s new for them, and we’re trying.

“They’re not quitting. We’re changing the program. We’re going to keep working hard, and just going to keep getting after it. They’re working hard every day. We’re just not there yet, and we’re going to get there. It’s there, I see it.”

Slovesko knows his team could learn a lot from Thursday night’s loss.

“I think they learned that this is a team,” he said. “It’s not an individual show and that’s what we’re about.

“We’re about the team, everything is family, and that’s what we’re about,” he said. “I think that’s what they’re going to take away from this, and like I told them, those little things. We had a lot of turnovers last game, and we cut that in half. We’re going to keep working.”

Jackie Adler had a team-high 12 points for Hubbard.

Butler is happy to have the first win of the season under her belt.

“It feel great, the locker room, everything in there,” she said. “The atmosphere was great. We’re just going to keep that rolling into our game on Saturday, and every game to follow that.”