Archbishop Carroll (8-8, 3-7) came to Father Godley Gym Friday night, one night after dropping a hard fought contest with powerhouse St John’s, and the Cardinals (8-14, 0-11)worked hard to take advantage of the weary Lions. Ireton came out fast with the help of strong defense that caused a flood of Lion turnovers, grabbing an 8-1 lead early. Carroll shook off those early problems and embarked on the first of two 8-0 runs they would throw at the Cardinals to get back in the game and pull away in the final quarter for a tough 59-49 win in Alexandria.
Ireton held a slim 10-9 advantage after one quarter, but a familiar plight, the lack of sustained scoring, found the Cardinals heading to the locker room down 23-15 at the half. Carroll used another 8-0 run during the quarter and only the pesky defensive effort that stymied 6’3″ Dominque Powell inside kept the game that close. Turnovers plaqued Ireton throughout the contest but the girls continued to battle the bigger Lions.
The third quarter started much like the first, with the Cardinals converting a pair of Carroll turnovers into layups, quickly closing the gap to 23-19. The Lion’s Powell picked up her 3rd personal foul with 6:05 to play in the third, and Bianca Ojiegbe’s 2 free throws drew Ireton to within 27-25. Both teams continued trading baskets, but when Powell went to the bench with her 4th personal with 3:35 to play, Ireton seized the momentum and regained the lead at 30-29 just under 2 minutes to play in the third. Carroll’s Diondra Daniel, with a game-high 20 points turned up the pressure, however, and three quick baskets gave the Lions a 35-30 lead after three quarters.
Carroll pressed the attack in the final stanza and the lead ballooned to 42-32, as the Cardinals continued to go to the basketball but couldn’t get a shot to fall. Free throws would begin to draw Ireton closer and Alexis Thurmond’s acrobatic layup pulled the Cardinals back to 42-38. Carroll’s Daniel hit a three, senior Marianna Habib responded with 2, senior Sarah Baldwin made a pair of free throws to close the game to 45-42. Daniel became a one-woman wrecking crew to Cardinal comeback hopes however as she drained a pair of three pointers following a layup and the Lions had raced away to 54-44 lead the Cardinals would not overcome. Thurmond lead Ireton with 13 points, Helena Barber and Baldwin added 10 each for Cardinals.
Coach Hutton’s charges head north Tuesday to face WCAC contender Good Counsel before returning home to host first place Bishop McNamara on Friday. Both varsity contests tip off at 7:30pm. In the earlier contests, Ireton’s freshmen handled Pope John Paul the Great’s JV Wolves 41-16 while the JV girls outlasted Carroll in their contest by 4.
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