Notre Dame's Mary Fillauer sets up for a three-pointer against CCS.
photo by Joseph Dycus
The stat sheet showed eight points next to Mary Fillauer’s name, which is a textbook example of how points are not everything. Anyone who watched the game saw Fillauer hit trail threes to break CCS runs, make quick passes to open teammates against the zone, and rotate on defense in the Fighting Irish’s aggressive trapping defense. When the Irish needed a play, the senior forward seemed to be there in Notre Dame’s 53-40 win over CCS.
“When you’re in these types of games and you run into a wall, you need someone to step up,” coach Jason Hill said.
“Tonight, being a veteran and a senior, Mary took it upon herself to step up and make a play.”
Chattanooga Christian had early offensive success by beating the Irish off the dribble. Lily Brady was electrifying with a live dribble and knifed into the lane almost at will. On one play, she slipped into the paint and drew free throws (more on those later) before dishing off to Taydah Rainey for a layup.
But after a close 10-9 first quarter, Notre Dame pulled away in the second quarter. Part of that was due to 22 first half free throws. While at first glance this number might seem like some home cooking at Notre Dame’s gym, there was nothing of the sort happening at Phifer gym.
“We have to knock them down free throws though,” coach Hill said. “If teams play physically and put you on the line, you have to make them pay for that.”
The Fighting Irish ramped up their defensive pressure by pressuring and trapping the Chargers the moment they inbounded the ball. This defense led to a bevy of offensive possessions for the Irish, some of which ended on a Mary Fillauer three or a layup by Maliyah Maples.
But many of their possessions ended at the free throw line after the Irish worked the ball around the horn, into the paint, and went up in traffic for a shot. It was not the most beautiful offense ever devised, but combined with the Irish’s lockdown defense, they were able to claw their way to a 25-14 halftime lead.
After Campbell spotted up for an open three from the right corner to start the second half, the Irish suddenly had doubled up the Chargers. Instead of quitting, Aayannah Baird went in for a layup before Brady earned a foul on the three-point attempt from the wing.
This prompted a quick timeout. After the timeout, the Irish’s Maples cherry-picked a layup and then Claire Mullins forced a jump ball. Then Campbell stole the ball and dished off to Dayonna Perryman to her right for an easy layup, and the Irish were once again fully in control of the game.
CCS still had a few solid plays in their bag, such as a crisp Tess Duble to Alli Matthews assist in the open court after breaking Notre Dame’s press, but those plays were outnumbered by Skaggs layups and Mullins backdoor cuts for easy layups.
Notre Dame closed out the game in the fourth in front of an appreciative bunch of Irish home fans, but they made the viewers sweat for a moment. After Fillauer and Campbell took turns dishing to Perryman for layups as the middle-of-the-floor outlet in against a 2-3 zone, the Chargers made an 8-0 run to make the score 50-40 with under a minute to play.
“I think we let our gas a little bit late in the game and CCS gained some momentum,” coach Hill said. “We found ourselves battling more than we thought, but that’s good for us. We have to be able to handle some adversity late in games, and CCS did a great job of putting us in that situation.”
Chattanooga Christian’s boys started their game with a sparkling 3-0 lead after eighth-grader Reid Conley cashed in a triple from the corner. That was the highlight of the night for CCS, who were otherwise outclassed by an overpowering and sharpshooting Notre Dame team.
Tim Vaughn had two dunks, including a throwdown off the backboard that looked like something out of the 2013 Clipper playbook. After the halftime buzzer ended, he threw down a reverse dunk for good measure too. Cole McCormick and DJ Brown were almost as prolific, and put in work on the boards, above the rim, and behind the three-point line.
GIRLS SUMMARY
CHATT. CHRISTIAN 09 05 13 13 – 40
NOTRE DAME 10 14 20 09 – 53
CHATTANOOGA CHRISTIAN (40) – Alexander 1, Aayannah Baird 10, Duble 2, Lily Brady 9, A. Matthews 3, Zidan 3, Hatten 2, Rainey 4, E. Matthews 1, Bray 4
NOTRE DAME (53) – Soutuyo, Kenzie Campbell 12, Maples 8, Dayonna Perryman 11, Mary Fillauer 8, Skaggs 2, Gaines 2, Claire Mullins 10
3-POINT GOALS: Chattanooga Christian 0 (N/A); Notre Dame 4 (Campbell 2, Fillauer 2).
BOYS SUMMARY
CHATT. CHRISTIAN 05 04 05 00 – 14
NOTRE DAME 18 18 14 12 – 62
CHATTANOOGA CHRISTIAN (14) – Conley 3, Baldwin 6, Irvin 3, Graham, Timmerman, Russell, Lubbers, Houston 2
NOTRE DAME (62) – Kelly 6, Tim Vaughn 16, Hammond 2, Cole McCormick 13, Daniel 3, Robinson, Houston 2, Fillauer 3, Jordan, McGee, Wilkerson 6, Daniel, D.J Brown 9, McNamara
3-POINT GOALS: Chattanooga Christian 1 (Conley 1); Notre Dame 8 (Brown 3, Kelly 2, McCormick 1, Daniel 1, Fillauer 1).
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