On Dec. 22, Catholic Central handed Mechanicsburg its only loss of the season with a 67-58 overtime win in Springfield.
With their third straight win, the defending OHC South champion Irish (6-3) are now tied with Greenon for first place in the division at 6-1. After starting the season 0-2, the Irish have won six of their last seven games.
“Our Christmas present to ourselves was to set a new tone and put everybody on an even playing field,” said Irish coach Danielle Roe. “We took some early losses, but it was to build our confidence for now.”
Sophomore Allie Hundley scored 14 points and hit three 3-pointers for Greenon, which fell to 10-1 and 6-1 in the OHC South.
“We didn’t shoot the ball very well tonight,” said Greenon coach Lonnie Robinson. “Hats off to Central. They played well. (Coach Roe) has them playing very well. They came into a tough place to play and got it done. There’s no excuses on our end. We didn’t shoot the ball very well, but I thought our effort was pretty good. I thought we played pretty hard. We’ve just got to get back to the drawing board.”
The Irish led 34-28 after three quarters, but a traditional 3-point play by Greenon junior Abby West and a 3-pointer by Hundley tied the game midway through the fourth quarter.
The Irish went on a 10-0 run — including five points from both Mullen and Smoot — to grab a 10-point lead in the final minutes. Defensively, Catholic Central held the Knights to three points in the final four minutes of the game.
“We locked in defensively and stayed together as a team,” Roe said. “Credit all nine girls. Everybody has a role. Whether you’re in or you’re out, everybody has a role to play. I asked the girls for 32 minutes — not Christmas, not Christmas break, but 32 minutes today. They deserve it.”
Mullen scored 11 of her 13 points in the second half, but the key to the victory was defense, she said.
“It was a really good win,” Mullen said. “We were trying to focus on ourselves and work on defense. We were trying to not get rattled, stay calm and play our own game.”
Smoot hit two 3-pointers in the game, including a key 3-pointer to give the Irish a 37-34 lead with 3:30 remaining. Seniors Meghan Foster scored seven points and Serenity Castle added six points for the Irish.
“A lot of people, when you’re looking at Catholic Central, you’re going to have to guard all five (players),” Roe said. “We know that when your number is called, be ready.”
The Irish travel to OHC North co-leader Fairbanks (9-2) for another key crossover division game at 6 p.m. Wednesday. Greenon hosts Northeastern at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
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