BETHLEHEM, Pa. — The No. 21 Catholic University women's basketball team powered to another win on Saturday afternoon to move to an impressive 9-0 overall and 4-0 in Landmark Conference play.
The Cardinals would not be denied in the opening stanza, shooting over 50 percent as a team. Graduate student Kerry Flaherty showed her shooting prowess, canning all of her attempts in the first quarter to get Catholic out to the perfect start.
Sarah White hit a three on the first offensive possession of the contest before Flaherty delivered from deep. White then got a big defensive board that led an Anna Scoblick layup facilitated by White who earned an assist on the play, forcing an early timeout from the Greyhound coaching staff.
Catholic would not look back, continuing to create open looks and converting at a high rate to take an impressive 33-18 lead into the first quarter break. Flaherty was perfect after one quarter of play and finished with a solid statline of 6-for-10 and 4-for-7 from three-point range. The graduate student didn't miss in the opening stanza, going 3-for-3 with two makes from deep and traditional three-point play.
Matt Donohue's team never looked back, outsourcing the Greyhounds 17-10 in the second quarter to take a comfortable 50-28 lead to the break.
Catholic shot over 40 percent from the field for the contest and over 40 percent from beyond the three-point arc. In addition to Flaherty's impressive shooting performance, Tori Fernandez went 2-for-3 from deep to highlight an eight-point performance.
Kaleigh Beirne was efficient and effective in 13 minutes off the bench, posting 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting. The senior from Tappen Zee registered 11 points, five rebounds and one steal in 13 minutes of action for coach Donohune.
The 9-0 start marks the best beginning to a season in over a decade, dating back to Catholic's 14-0 start to the 2011-12 campaign that saw them post a 27-2 overall record. The Cardinals' nine-game winning steak is the longest since the 2013-14 season when the squad rang off 10 straight after losing the opening two games of the year en route to an impressive 22-6 campaign.
The Cardinals sit at a perfect 4-0 in conference after knocking off No. 18 Elizabethtown in overtime prior to wins over Wilkes and Susquehanna. Catholic will enjoy a hiatus of more than a week before hosting the Sports Tours International Jamie Lynn Roberts Fairfield Inn DC Holiday Classic beginning the Monday before Christmas. The Cardinals will face Eastern and Marymount (Va.), with tip-off against the Eagles set for 2 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 18.
