Notre Dame wipes out Paul VI in opening round
LAWRENCEVILLE >> Forever finally ended for the Notre Dame High girls basketball team, which had to wait seemingly that long to play again after losing to Ewing in the Mercer County Tournament 10 days ago.
The 8th-seeded Irish returned to action Tuesday night and took care of business with a 55-36 victory over 9th-seeded Paul VI in an NJSIAA South Jersey Non-Public A first-round game.
The Irish travel to Belmar on Thursday for a huge test against top-seeded St. Rose.
“After that last loss we knew what we had to do to prepare for this” said junior center Erika Porter, who collected 17 points and 13 rebounds. “We played well and we got the W.”
Just getting to play was a win in itself.
“After that (Ewing) loss, we were just practicing,” Porter said. “We were working hard and fixing our mistakes. We showed that today and it was good to play again.”
Notre Dame (18-8) led from wire to wire, taking an 8-0 lead and slowly pulling away as the game went on. The closest Paul VI came was 8-6 after a timeout, but Amy Jones and Leah Johnson responded with hoops to start the Irish on a 15-2 run that extended deep into the second quarter.
ND opened several 19-point leads in the second half, including the final score.
“My coach told us they had a really good point guard and basically, we went over plays,” Porter said of the preparation. “That was about it.”
The Irish did a good job on point guard Abaigeal Babore, the Eagles leading scorer with a 14.7 average. Babore did not score a basket and was limited to five points. ND’s defense forced 20 turnovers and held Paul VI to 6-for-32 shooting over the first three quarters when the game was still in question.
Johnson had her usual strong outing with 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists, while Jones added nine points, Natalie Smith seven and Nicole Villalta six, as all the Irish points came from their starters.
“It’s a good win,” said Porter, a Plainsboro resident. “But we gotta focus on what’s next.”
That would be the Purple Roses, who are are 23-2 and also looking to get back in action after being upset by eventual champion Manchester in the Shore Conference Tournament semifinals. St. Rose has a dangerous scorer in Brynn Farrell, who led the state in scoring as a freshman with Metuchen.
“They’re a really good team,” Porter said. “I think if we stay focused and play together we’ll have a chance. I think we just have to play our regular defense. Good defense can stop anyone.”
PAUL VI (36)
Babore 0-5-5, McShea 3-3-10, Ashong 2-1-5, Miller 4-0-8, Stroemel 3-1-8, Sharkey 0-0-0. Totals: 12-10-36
NOTRE DAME (55)
Johnson 6-2-16, Smith 3-1-7, Porter 7-3-17, Jones 4-0-9, Villalta 2-1-6, Morgan 0-0-0, Flowers 0-0-0. Totals: 22-7-55.
Paul VI (17-10) 84915—36
Notre Dame (18-8) 12 11 17 15 — 55
3-point goals: McShea, Stroemel, Johnson 2, Jones, Villalta.