Steinert’s Katie Corby dribbles the ball against Nottingham during a CVC Valley Division girls basketball game on Saturday afternoon at The Galaxy in Hamilton Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Steinert’s Reilly Klein shoots the ball against Nottingham during a CVC Valley Division girls basketball game on Saturday afternoon at The Galaxy in Hamilton Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Steinert’s Jaclyn Corby puts up a shot against Nottingham during a CVC Valley Division girls basketball game on Saturday afternoon at The Galaxy in Hamilton Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Nottingham’s Victoria Smolka, center, pulls down a rebound between Steinert’s Mia Garofalo, left, and Naomi Gray, right, during a CVC Valley Division girls basketball game on Saturday afternoon at The Galaxy in Hamilton Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Steinert’s Mia Pope, 1, goes to put up a shot against Nottingham during a CVC Valley Division girls basketball game on Saturday afternoon at The Galaxy in Hamilton Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Steinert’s Mia Garofalo shoots the ball against Nottingham during a CVC Valley Division girls basketball game on Saturday afternoon at The Galaxy in Hamilton Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Nottingham coach Kyle James looks on from the sideline against Steinert during a CVC Valley Division girls basketball game on Saturday afternoon at The Galaxy in Hamilton Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Steinert coach Kristin Jacobs talks to her team against Nottingham during a CVC Valley Division girls basketball game on Saturday afternoon at The Galaxy in Hamilton Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Show Caption1 of 8Steinert’s Katie Corby dribbles the ball against Nottingham during a CVC Valley Division girls basketball game on Saturday afternoon at The Galaxy in Hamilton Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Expand HAMILTON — When a team is as defense oriented as the Steinert High varsity girls’ basketball team, getting the offense to click is always something for which it strives. So, even when it works, sometimes it’s not overwhelmingly clear to the players. The Spartans opened the 2024-25 season with a 50-15 win over crosstown rival Nottingham Saturday and, while they surely were not as crisp in their attack as they would like to be, that output was still 14 points better than their average a year ago. Taking that evaluation one step further – Steinert only scored more than 45 points twice and over 50 points once last season. And its defense was still on point. A year ago, it beat the Northstars, 43-16. “We have not been a big offensive team, but today our offense brought it a lot more,” Spartans 5-foot-8 junior guard/forward Mia Pope said. “We had to stay locked in defensively, which we did.” Pope, probably better known as the shortstop for Steinert’s softball team, was a key component yesterday. After initially not being sure if she was going to play for head coach Kristin Voorhees Jacobs’ team again this winter, the very athletic Pope decided to stay with her basketball teammates. “It’d been a tough decision,” Pope said. “But I’m happy to be back on the floor with my friends. I’m excited to come out and play every day.” After scoring 14 points and grabbing six rebounds, both of which were second highest on the team, Pope’s teammates were just as happy to have her back in the lineup. Half of her points came in the opening quarter when the visitors jumped to a 12-1 lead. Five-foot-two sophomore guard Katie Corby scored a game-high 15 points before heading off to her older sister’s graduation from West Chester University. Naomi Gray, a 5-11 junior guard/forward, grabbed a team-high eight rebounds for Steinert. Meanwhile, head coach Kyle James’ Nottingham club had been counting on a better showing out of the gates, but a lot of in-game injuries kept the Northstars from ever finding the kind of rhythm they were seeking. “I was hoping things would go better,” said 5-5 senior guard Emma Wilke, who paced Nottingham with nine points. “Today we all stayed together (instead of squabbling amongst themselves). But we’ve got to capitalize on the opportunities we have. We have to finish when we have the ball.” Wilke scored all four of her team’s first-half points as the Spartans jumped to a 20-point lead at intermission. Only two of the other eight players who took the court for the Northstars reached the scorer’s column as they focused on trying to slow Steinert. The hard work will continue as both teams switch Colonial Valley Conference divisions this season. Next up for the Spartans will be a home Valley Division match with Lawrence at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. That same day and time, Nottingham will visit Robbinsville for what will be a Colonial Division clash this time around. STEINERT (50) Garofalo 0-0-0, JCorby 3-0-7, Klein 2-1-5, Conover 1-0-2, Pope 6-1-14, McCarthy 0-0-0, Gray 1-1-3, Wright 1-0-2, KCorby 6-1-15, Chirichella 0-0-0, Petracca 0-0-0, Zimmerman 0-0-0, Constance 0-0-0, Rosa 1-0-2. Totals — 21-4-50. NOTTINGHAM (15) Hreiz 0-0-0, EWilke 3-3-9, KWilke 0-0-0, Nobile 0-0-0, Gresavage 0-0-0, ZWilliams 1-1-3, Jacobs 0-3-3, Kieffer 0-0-0, Smolka 0-0-0. Totals — 4-7-15. Steinert (1-0)                        12    12    11    15    —    50 Nottingham(0-1)                     1      3      3      8    —    15 3-point goals — JCorby, Pope, KCorby 2 (S).