Plenty of fight in McErlane, Notre Dame

RADNOR – Two words can best describe the Academy of Notre Dame basketball team.

“Small, but mighty,” senior guard Allie Lynch said.

That’s actually three words, but you get the idea. The Irish do not possess the size that will strike fear in opposing teams. Their tallest player is Katie Halligan, a 5-10 freshman and starting power forward.

Everyone else on the Irish is 5-6 or shorter.

But what they lack in size, they make up with hard work.

“I think our team chemistry is great and we all work so well together,” sophomore guard Maeve McErlane said.

Maybe it starts with all the wind sprints the Irish do in practice, over and over again. They have a motor that never dies, which was apparent from the opening tip of Thursday’s 52-29 nonleague victory against Bishop Shanahan.

The Irish applied a stifling press from the word “go” and forced 12 turnovers in the first quarter. They racked up 20 steals and forced the visiting Eagles into 28 giveaways.

Making teams hurt themselves is exactly what the Irish want to accomplish.

“Everything starts with our defense,” Allie Lynch said.

Notre Dame’s (4-1) trap defense caused all sorts of trouble for Shanahan (3-2). McErlane led the way with six steals. Halligan had four steals, Lynch came up with three, and sophomore guard Julia Dever finished with two.

Lynch, McErlane and sophomore guard Julia Dever each scored in double figures.

“I definitely think we have multiple people who can score the ball,” said Lynch, a four-year varsity starter who will continue her playing career at University of Scranton next fall. “If one person isn’t having a good game, there are other people who can step up.”

Multiple players enjoyed excellent games Thursday afternoon.

McErlane topped them all.

A second-year varsity starter, it doesn’t take a college scout to see McErlane is very talented. She can dribble (and crossover), run point, play the wing, drive and defend with some of the top players in the area. Watching her work away from the ball is fun, too.

McErlane filled up the stat sheet, accumulating game highs in points (14), assists (five) and steals (six). She overcame four straight misses from the field in the first quarter to hit on 5 of 15 attempts. She drilled one of her three 3-pointers from deep beyond the arc.

“I’ve worked a lot on my passing and just having a good connection with the team,” she said. “All I want to do is be able to help.”

Second-year Notre Dame coach Lauren Thomer is happy to have a player of McErlane’s ilk to build a program around.

“She’s just a baller,” Thomer said. “She does it all, she’s really smart, and she works her tail off. When one of your best players is one of your hardest workers, that just sets a tone. And she does all of the little things and is always guarding the other team’s best player, either she or Allie (Lynch). She did a great job on 40 (center Kathyn Greenhut, who scored all eight of her points in the first half), trying to limit her and throw her out of her game in the second half. “We talked about doubling down on (Greenhut) and they all were doing that.

Notre Dame was in front the entire way. Its lead was trimmed to one point in the opening seconds of the third period, when Shanahan’s Jacey Petruno scored five consecutive points to make it a 24-23 score. The Irish went on a 10-0 run and held Shanahan to three field goals in the second half. After seeing their lead cut to one point, the Irish finished the game on a 29-5 run.

Lynch scored 12 points (three 3-pointers) and Dever netted 10 of her 11 points in the first two quarters. Halligan chipped in with nine points and a game-high eight rebounds.

At 4-1, the Irish are gaining confidence – their lone defeat was to Cardinal O’Hara, which is among the contenders for the Catholic League title.

You can call them little, but they are tough and plenty talented.

“I love coaching these kids,” Thomer said. “They are relentless and we try to instill that, too. The best compliment I can get is, ‘I love how hard your girls play.’ They work hard until the end … and that’s the type of blue-collar effort that we’re looking for. We’re not going to be the most talented team in Southeastern Pennsylvania, but we’re going to be competitive with everybody. That’s what we’re trying to do.”

In other nonleague action:

Chester Charter SA 51, Chichester 36 >> CCSA’s D’Ayzha Atkinson tallied 10 of her 28 points in the second quarter, and added 16 rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Ceyrah Williams pitched in with eight points, six boards, four assists, three steals and three blocked shots for the Sabers (5-0).

Day’Ami Moyet scored 16 points for Chichester.

Academy Park 38, Sacred Heart 32 >> LaShay Jackson sank a trio of 3-point shots and accumulated a game-high 13 points for the visiting Knights, who led 19-10 at halftime.

Gabrielle Jackson and Jada Kinlaw added six points apiece.

Carina Fichera paced Sacred Heart with 11 points.

Episcopal Academy 43, Hill School 32 >> Raeleen Keffer-Scharpf paced the Churchwomen (2-4) to their second straight win, scoring a team-high 16 points. Amanda Purcell and Gaeli Keffer-Scharpf tossed in nine points apiece.

Hill School center Cynthia Williams scored a game-high 21 points, including all 13 of the Blues’ second-quarter points.