We had the Tweet almost done during the first quarter of Thursday night’s girls game between #2 Bishop Ireton and #1 Paul VI. “The Cardinals came to play tonight–up 13-6 early with PVI’s Ashley Owusu w/ two quick fouls. Upset?”
But before we could finish that Tweet, Ireton’s lead was suddenly gone as Paul VI went on a lightning-quick 11-0 run. We never got the Tweet out and the Panthers never looked back, registering a 73-42 home win over the Cardinals. Next time we’ll get that Tweet out quicker or even smarter–wait until the second half to even mention the word “upset” again when covering the Panthers.
The game couldn’t have gone any better for Ireton early. Cardinals center Akunna Konkwo was doing damage down low and the impact of the Panthers’ top two scorers, guard Ashley Owusu (Maryland) and forward Amira Collins (Tennessee), was limited. Owusu and Collins only had four points combined at halftime but that didn’t stop Paul VI from enjoying a 15-point lead at intermission.
That’s because Paul VI (6-1, 16-2) is still chock-full of depth. Boston College-commit Kate Klimkiewicz did the heavy lifting for the Panthers in the first half, scoring 15 points and adding five rebounds. She wasn’t much of a factor in the second half, but didn’t need to be as Owusu and Collins were rolling by then. Klimkiewicz also drew a second foul on Konkwo early in the second quarter. That was key, because when Konkwo went to the bench the Panthers were able to expand their lead.
As were all of the Panthers in demonstrating their depth. Coach Scott Allen played 11 players even when the game was close, and 10 of the 15 who eventually got into the game scored. Klimkiewicz led with 15 despite not scoring in the second half, while Owusu added 13 and five assists and Collins 12. Sophomore point guard Aurea Gingras had a nice all-around game as well with eight points, five boards and three assists. Paul VI as a team shared the ball well, tallying 17 assists on the night.
Konkwo finished with 20 points and 15 rebounds for Ireton (3-3, 13-3), but the Cardinals simply couldn’t hit from the perimeter enough to give her more room to operate. Ireton shot only 26% from the field and was 2-21 from three-point range. Even with Konkwo to battle down low the Panthers’ length across the board and tough defense bothered the Cardinals all night.
The two WCAC rivals will battle again on February 11th in Alexandria.
–Chris Jollay
all statistics are unofficial
| BISHOP IRETON | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
| SHACKLFORD | 1-5 | 2-2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | |
| JEWETT | 0-3 | 0-1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | |
| PETERS | 2-12 | 1-2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | |
| KONKWO | 7-14 | 6-9 | 20 | 15 | 0 | |
| KENNARD | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| Irondi | 2-7 | 3-7 | 7 | 5 | 0 | |
| Dixon | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | |
| Napper | 0-1 | 2-2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
| Franklin | 0-2 | 2-2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
| TOTALS | 12-47 | 16-25 | 42 | 32 | 7 | |
| Threes: Peters 2-12, Franklin 0-2, Jewett 0-3, Shacklford 0-4 | ||||||
| PAUL VI | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
| GINGRAS | 4-10 | 0-2 | 8 | 5 | 3 | |
| THIBODEAU | 3-5 | 0-0 | 8 | 1 | 2 | |
| OWUSU | 5-7 | 3-7 | 13 | 3 | 5 | |
| COLLINS | 4-8 | 3-3 | 12 | 0 | 3 | |
| KLIMKIEWICZ | 5-9 | 4-5 | 15 | 6 | 0 | |
| Gambrell | 1-2 | 0-0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | |
| Perkins | 2-5 | 1-2 | 5 | 1 | 3 | |
| Kenefick | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Green | 0-0 | 3-4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Alston | 1-1 | 2-2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | |
| Avoletta | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Hayes | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Coan | 0-0 | 3-4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Herzog | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| TOTALS | 25-48 | 19-30 | 73 | 26 | 17 | |
| Threes: Thibodeau 2-3, Collins 1-1, Klimkiewicz 1-2, Kenefick 0-1, Gingras 0-2 | ||||||