WASHINGTON, D.C. - Catholic's tremendous start to the season continued on Monday afternoon as Matt Donohue's Cardinals improved to 10-0 with a 79-60 win over Eastern to kick off the Jamie Lynn Roberts - Fairfield Inn Holiday Classic. Catholic continues its best start to the season since ripping off 14 straight wins at the beginning of the 2012-13 campaign. 

10 different Cardinals scored in a total team effort led by Kerry Flaherty who set a new career-high with 23 points in the win. Flaherty hit five first-half threes en route to her second game this season with at least six makes from beyond-the-arc. Monday marked Flaherty's fifth game this season in double figures as she improved to 46 percent from three-point range this season. 

The Saratoga Springs, N.Y. native subbed back into the contest with 6:23 remaining in the first half with the Cardinals on top 25-12. She proceeded to knock down five threes in the final 4:35 of the quarter as Catholic built its lead to 51-23 after she knocked down a corner three off a behind-the-back feed from Keegan Douglas.

Douglas was the only other Cardinal in double figures with 10 points and five assists for Catholic. Anna Scoblick scored eight points while key reserves Kaleigh Beirne and Amelia Kennedy each contributed eight points for the Cardinals. Catholic scored 27 bench points in the outing with Alexa Kenah also kicked in seven points to go with seven boards and two blocks. Beirne has seen her role expand as the calendar turned to December, scoring eight or more points in three of the team's four games. She has 19 points in 29 minutes across the last two games. 

Catholic used a massive second quarter effort to break the game open, turning a six-point edge with 9:42 remaining in the quarter into a 28-point lead with 39 ticks left on the quarter clock. Carly Mulvaney and Sarah White each made a three to pair with Flaherty's five as the Cardinals added 21 points via the long ball in the quarter. Eastern trimmed the lead to 16 with 5:25 to go in the third, but Catholic extended its lead back to 21 entering the final quarter. The Eagles never got closer than 16 as Catholic came away with a 19-point win. 

It was an impressive overall shooting performance for Catholic as it knocked down 47 percent from the floor and 50 percent from beyond the three-point line. Catholic is shooting 35.3 percent from distance this season and has made at least 10 threes in four separate games. Catholic was also careful with the ball in the victory, turning it over a season-low 10 times. Donohue's program is outscoring teams by 20.3 points per game in 2023 with victories by double digits in eight of 10 games. 

The Cardinals will take on crosstown rival Marymount on day two of the Holiday Classic with tip set for 3 p.m. as Donohue searches for career win number 400.