Friday night at the St. James in the Christy Winters Scott Classic, the top-ranked Cardinals used a balanced offensive attack and good second half defense to stop #5 Virginia Academy, 70-41.
Nerves seemed a factor early for Virginia Academy, but the Patriots eventually stepped up in the first half to give the Cardinals a spirited fight. Elyse Autrey was very good for the Patriots early, scoring 13 first half points, and fellow senior Sarah Oduro did some damage down low. Still, the Cardinals got 11 first half points from star junior Nyla Brooks to lead at halftime, 33-24.
In the second half tall and athletic Bishop Ireton was more focused on defense. Autrey was limited to two second half points, and the Cardinals held Leah Keyes, a Navy commit, scoreless. The Cardinals’ zone press frustrated the Patriots’ ball-handlers into numerous turnovers. Then Ireton started to pour it on, upping its lead to 20 points after three quarters. Another Cardinals run at the beginning of the fourth quarter led to both teams emptying their benches.
The versatile Cardinals’ starting five all gave meaningful contributions, effectively exploiting whatever matchups the Virginia Academy defense afforded them. Junior Theresa Hagans led the way with 15 points, while senior forward Desirae Ashton added 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Brooks only scored two second half points but showed how she can still punish defenses focused on her, delivering four second half assists. The Tennessee signee’s defense was also at times stellar. Junior Amirah Anderson was the fourth Cardinal to register double figures with 12 points, while senior Saniyah King added eight points.
Oduro finished with 10 points and six rebounds to supplement Autrey’s 15 points. Ireton improved to 7-1 on the year, while Virginia Academy dropped to 3-4.
–Chris Jollay
all statistics are unofficial
| IRETON | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
| ANDERSON | 4-8 | 3-4 | 12 | 8 | 2 | |
| KING | 3-7 | 2-2 | 8 | 4 | 2 | |
| HAGANS | 5-10 | 5-7 | 15 | 3 | 4 | |
| BROOKS | 6-16 | 0-0 | 13 | 6 | 6 | |
| ASHTON | 7-11 | 0-1 | 14 | 10 | 0 | |
| Manning | 2-2 | 2-2 | 6 | 2 | 0 | |
| Wilson | 1-2 | 0-0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | |
| Johnson | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Lanier | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Baldino | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Knight | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| TOTALS | 28-58 | 12-16 | 70 | 38 | 16 | |
| Threes: Brooks 1-1, Anderson 1-2, Hagans 0-1, Ashton 0-1, King 0-2 | ||||||
| VAA | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
| AUTREY | 5-13 | 4-5 | 15 | 3 | 2 | |
| KEYES | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| MURRAY | 1-4 | 0-0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
| RAKOTOBE | 2-4 | 0-1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | |
| ODURO | 3-4 | 4-5 | 10 | 6 | 0 | |
| Thornhill | 1-6 | 0-0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | |
| White | 1-2 | 0-0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | |
| Moore | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Weis | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Bryant | 1-1 | 0-0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Dillon | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Tounger | 1-1 | 0-0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| TOTALS | 15-43 | 8-11 | 41 | 18 | 7 | |
| Threes: Bryant 1-1, White 1-2, Autrey 1-3, Murray 0-2, Dillon 0-2, Thornhill 0-3, Moore 0-3 | ||||||