Sophomore Michelle Montgomery (11) drives in a game versus Elizabeth Seton. Montgomery had a team-high 8 pts in the SJC game.
Preseason conference favorite, St Johns, visited Godley Gym and the Cardinals Tuesday and handed the Ireton girls a 56-31 setback. Led by Niya Beverley’s 15 points, the Cadets broke out to a 22-6 first period lead and were off the races.
The Cardinals couldn ‘t get untracked offensively and fell behind 34-10 at the intermission. They scored in single digits again in the third period, to trail 50-18 at the end of three. Ireton did get scoring from nine different players in the, including a team-high 8 from sophomore Michelle Montgomery and junior Alex Stipano. Ileana Gutierrez and Isabelle Kendall each contributed three points, but the Cardinals had only a bucket each from the remaining five players who scored.
Sarah Overcash added 9 for St Johns, Raley Hinton and Britani Stowe each had 7 for the visiting Cadets. With the win St Johns improved to 11-2 in the WCAC and 16-5 overall.
On Senior Night, the Cardinals said farewell to five seniors playing their final regular season game in Godley Gym when the Tartans of Holy Cross visited Alexandria. The five, including Isabelle Kendall, Kelly Gallagher, Ileana Gutierrez, Heather Pearson, and Kellen Phillips, were introduced before the start of the contest escorted by the parents to the gym’s center court.
Ireton played a determined defensive game early, but the offense once again was as cold as the winter’s north wind, falling behing 13-5 after a period of play and 31-14 at halftime. The Cadets tough defense stymied Ireton into the the third frame and the Cardinals trailed 50-19 as the game entered the final period of play and the eventual 63-30 final.
Holy Cross’ Jillian Dunston led all scorers with 17 points and the nearly unstoppable Rhamat Alhassan, a 6’5″ center and Florida Gator-bound volleyball player, had 15 points, mostly from inside the paint on offensive rebounds, as well as more than a half dozen blocked shots. Alex Stipano paced the Cardinals with 14 , Michelle Montgomery had 5, and Shannon Corridon added 4.
Ireton fell to 6-19 for the campaign, still looking for their first conference win with four games remaining. Meanwhile, the Tartans improved to 12-13, 9-7 in the rugged WCAC.
Sunday begins a string of four consecutive road games for the girls, starting with a matinee at Bishop McNamara. Tuesday is a road trip to Leonardtown to battle St Mary’s Ryken, followed by a Thursday date with Good Counsel and a regular season ending trip to St John’s on Saturday. First round WCAC tournament action begins on Thursday, February 20th and possible state playoff bids remain to be determined.
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