Bridgewater, Va. - The Catholic University women's basketball team defeated Alvernia to kickoff the Bridgewater College Tip-Off Tournament on Saturday evening. The Cardinals outscored the Golden Wolves in the first three quarters and hung on in the fourth after a thrilling back-and-forth battle to win 57-54.
Junior
Keegan Douglas had another monster night for the Cardinals, recording her second straight game with 20 or more points to open the season. She ended with 26 points on 10-18 from the floor and went perfect 5-5 from the free throw line in 36 minutes.
Sophomore
Anna Scoblick was also a major contributor, showing her skills on both ends of the floor to fill up the stat sheet. She put up 12 points and grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds for her first collegiate double-double. She also dished out four assists. On the defensive end, Scoblick used her length to come away with two steals and block four shots.
Seniors
Sarah White and
Molly Aromando added seven and five to the scoreboard respectively. Sophomore
Amelia Kennedy, freshman
Tori Fernandez, and graduate-student
Kerry Flaherty also saw minutes and combined to see seven points go through the net. Junior
Carly Mulvaney made her mark in the rebounding column, securing double-digit boards for the third time in her career with 10.
Catholic was ahead for the entire game, but Alvernia held the contest to a two possession game for a majority of 60 minutes. After a jumper by Aromando followed by a bucket in the paint from Kennedy midway through the third quarter, Catholic gained a 11 point lead for their biggest advantage of the evening. However, four offensive rebounds in a three-minute stretch gave the Golden Wolves momentum heading into the fourth.
Both teams found success in the final 15 minutes. The Cardinals continued to play their game and execute on offense. They converted on their first four possessions of the fourth quarter and forced three turnovers in that stretch. The Golden Wolves responded with three huge threes while knocking down six shots from the free-throw line.
A pair of well-timed layups and two clutch free throws from Douglas gave Catholic a three-point lead with six seconds remaining. Alvernia quickly called a time out to advance the ball and draw up a final play, but their three point attempt was disrupted and fell short.
Catholic counteracted shooting just 35 percent from the field by securing 14 offensive rebounds leading to 12 second-chance points. They finished with 32 points in the paint and 10 of their 22 makes were assisted.
Matt Donohue's team will return to the court tomorrow for their second game of the tournament against the host team, Bridgewater. Tip off is set for 4 p.m.
