Andrew Fillaur hit a three at the 7:26 mark and Notre Dame never looked back on a night of festivity for the Fighting Irish. They led from wire to wire and bullied the visiting Ooltewah with a full court press oozing with electricity. Their forty-seven point victory stands as their sixth win of twenty points or higher and their largest margin of victory this season
With seven seniors on the team, the Fighting Irish found themselves with much to celebrate. “These guys have seen a lot in their four years on our team,” Head Coach Jonathan Adams said of his veteran leadership. “They’ve played in a lot of big games over the years and we are hoping that they’ll have a chance to play in some more with the district tournament next week.”
Following a short pregame ceremony, the Irish wasted no time by opening the game on a 12-0 run. By running a full court press focused on trapping the Owl’s ball handlers, Notre Dame quickly frazzled their opponents and were able to get several simple buckets in the fast break.
“We’ve talked about starting fast recently,” Coach Adams said, “There have been some games where we haven’t gotten the start that we had hoped for, but tonight was not one of those.”
With a reliable source of pressure at their fingertips, the Irish were able to resort to a man to man defense and work on their halfcourt offense in the second half. All thirteen members of the home team scored in a game in which Notre Dame was free to play loose and free.
As the turnovers continued to pile up for the Owls, Cole McCormick feasted in transition for the Irish. The big man used his combination of size and strength to finish several tough layups over feisty defenders. His two first half dunks garnered roars of approval from a packed student section that spilled out onto a far corner of the court.
Duba Turay led the visiting team with twelve points. His nine second quarter points accounted for sixty percent of his team’s offense in the period. Turay splashed a pair of threes with a smooth release, but was held in check, adding only three points to his total outside of the period.
Ultimately, the visitors could not protect the basketball and succumbed to the seemingly never ending strain that the Fighting Irish defense brought with it.
“I’m blessed to work at the best school in the world with the best students and the best fans,” Coach Adams stated. “We’re gonna need them again in this district tournament and hopefully they will show up with the same level of energy that they had tonight because it made a difference.”
Notre Dame Girls 53 Ooltewah 47: Maliyah Maples, Miriam Gaines, and Dayonna Perryman led the way with fifteen, fourteen, and twelve points respectively for the Fighting Irish. The home team was in the driver’s seat for much of the first three quarters, but struggled to maintain the thirteen point lead that they held at the end of the third quarter. Fortunately for the packed home crowd, the ladies were able to hold onto the lead and took the victory on senior night.
GIRLS SUMMARY
OOLTEWAH 10 8 9 20 - 47
NOTRE DAME 17 7 16 13 - 53
OOLTEWAH (47) - Makenzie Bernier 17, Tipton 8, Brown 6, Dunbar 6, Torrance 6, Matthews 2, Mooney 2
NOTRE DAME (53) - Maliyah Maples 15, Miriam Gaines 14, Dayonna Perryman 12, Steere 7, McCormick 4, Greene 1
3-Point Goals: Ooltewah 1 (Torrance); Notre Dame 3 (Gaines 2, Steere)
BOYS SUMMARY
OOLTEWAH 5 10 12 5 - 32
NOTRE DAME 20 18 26 15 - 79
OOLTEWAH (32) - Duba Turay 12, Robinson 6, Prichard 5, Chapman 3, Thomas 3, Hardaway 2, Kusimy 1
NOTRE DAME (79) - Cole McCormick 16, Ben Houston 11, DJ Brown 10, Andrew Fillaur 10, Herman 9, Daniel 4, B Hammond 4, Flowers 3, Roberts 3, Snope 3, K. Hammond 2, Jordan 2, Kelly 2
3-Point Goals: Ooltewah 5 (Turay 2, Prichard 1, Robinson 1, Thomas 1); Notre Dame 5 (Herman, Fillaur, Snope, Brown, McCormick)
Records: Ooltewah (0-20); Notre Dame (17-8)