WASHINGTON, D.C. - Catholic women's basketball coach
Matt Donohue earned his 400th career win on Tuesday afternoon as his Cardinals defeated Marymount 70-64 in a back-and-forth thriller to conclude the Jamie Lynn Roberts - Fairfield Inn Holiday Classic.
Donohue's 19th-ranked Cardinals improve to 11-0 on the season ahead of the holiday break.
Kerry Flaherty was named the tournament's MVP while
Anna Scoblick was also named to the All-Tournament Team.
Flaherty continued to stretch opposing defenses with her ability from distance, scoring 19 points while making five shots from beyond the three-point line. She averaged 21 points per game for the tournament while hitting 11 triples in the two games.
Scoblick contributed 13 points, eight rebounds, three steals, and two blocks in the victory while
Sarah White and
Carly Mulvaney each scored 11 points. Mulvaney logged her first double-double of the season, grabbing 11 rebounds for Catholic.
The first quarter was everything you could hope for in a rivalry game with high-level play and high-level intensity. Marymount led by as many as nine at the 3:42 mark before Catholic ended the quarter on a 13-2 run to take a 23-21 lead after 10 minutes. Flaherty and
Alexa Kenah each hit triples to trim the lead to three before Flaherty converted again to tie the game at 19 with 1:35 to play in the quarter. With less than a minute remaining, each team traded buckets in rapid succession with
Kaleigh Beirne putting Catholic ahead before Chandler Eddleton tied it with her 1,000th career point. White beat the defense and hit a shot at the buzzer to put Catholic ahead after one.
The Cardinals pushed the lead to double digits in the second, taking a 41-31 edge as White scored with 1:07 to go in the half. Ella Morrison converted on a triple 17 seconds later to send the game to the locker room with the two teams separated by seven points.
Catholic saw its advantage fall to just one point with 5:57 to play in the third quarter before another Flaherty three at the 4:32 mark pushed the Cardinals ahead by four. Marymount took the lead for the first time since the first quarter after Eddleton scored to give the Saints a 50-48 lead with 2:13 left in the third. Marymount went four-for-four from the foul line in the final 1:09 to lead it 54-50 entering the fourth.
Donohue's squad retook the lead with 8:11 to go in the game as
Keegan Douglas hit a floater to push the Cardinals ahead by one after a pair of Mulvaney free throws. Neither team would hit a shot for nearly four minutes before a Douglas steal led to a White layup with 4:18 remaining as Catholic took a 60-56 lead. A Douglas three-pointer with 2:55 to play put the Cardinals up 66-58, but Marymount hung around, trimming the lead to two with 1:53 as they took advantage of Catholic turnovers. Mulvaney hit four free throws down the stretch and Catholic kept the Saints from scoring in the final 1:53 as they pulled out a 70-64 victory.
The Cardinals will enjoy some time off over the holiday before returning to action on January 3 when Lycoming comes to D.C. for a Landmark Conference contest.
