SAN FRANCISCO – As much as the modern game of basketball relies on outside shooting and finesse, Tuesday’s game between Sacred Heart Cathedral and St. Ignatius was a physical grind, fitting for the oldest rivalry west of the Mississippi River.
Still, it doesn’t hurt to hit a three-pointer every now and then.
Alyssa Downs connected four times from beyond the arc, including two huge threes in the fourth quarter, as St. Ignatius beat SHC 50-47 to defeat the Fightin’ Irish at USF for the first time since 2014.
“It’s nice to finally get one here,” said head coach Mike Mulkerrins, whose team had played SHC well over the past three years, with the exception of the annual meetings on the Hilltop.
Visions of those prior defeats resurfaced for SI fans as the Irish used a 10-0 run to tie the game at 42 in the fourth, but Downs put the ‘Cats back on top with just over three minutes remaining and extended the lead to 49-45 with a minute to go. Downs and Georgia Madden, who assisted on both of those clutch 3-pointers, each finished with 13 points.
For three quarters, St. Ignatius (10-3, 1-0 WCAL) had the edge thanks to cold SHC shooting and Madalene Ennis’ physical play in the paint, but the 5-foot-10 junior injured her right ankle with 1:08 let in the third quarter and would not return. The Wildcats would go on to score the first four points of the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 42-32, but Gianna Silvestri finally snapped the cold spell for the Irish, who had been 0-for-21 from 3-point range until that point, and sparked the game-tying run.
A three-point play by Talo Li-Uperesa (9 points, 14 rebounds) cut the lead to four, and after Silvestri scored off a nice pass from Jayden Benitez, Yaniah Fleming tied the game at 42.
Fleming shared the scoring lead with Li-Uperesa and Rainah Smith finished with eight points and 12 rebounds as Sacred Heart Cathedral (4-9, 0-1) was able to control the glass following Ennis’ injury. Ennis, who has been drawing interest from multiple West Coast Conference schools, finished with eight points and 12 rebounds. Her assist on a Downs 3-pointer put the Wildcats up by six and her putback made it 38-30 before her injury, all part of an 11-2 run to give St. Ignatius a 10-point lead.
Neither team led by more than three points in the first half, but a Madden 3-pointer, set up by Ennis’ offensive rebound, put the Wildcats up 27-21 before a 9-4 Irish run.
Li-Uperesa scored four points in the final 90 seconds to keep LyRyan Russell’s side close, but sophomore Diary Khin, who was injured in the first quarter and didn't return until late in the third, made one of two free throws with 4.1 seconds remaining to provide the final score. SHC kept the game close thanks to a 14-of-17 free-throw performance, whereas St. Ignatius made just seven of 17 from the line and had missed four of five before Khin ensured the best the Irish could do would be force overtime.
A 30-foot try to tie the game hit the rim at the buzzer, setting off a St. Ignatius celebration that included Ennis hopping around on one leg and being helped up the stands with her teammates to celebrate with the student section.
St. Ignatius will have a tall test on Saturday with a trip to San Jose to face Mitty, the top team in the entire country. SHC will host St. Francis on Saturday.
