IND Blows Mercy Away In “The Game” What We Learned
For the sixth straight year the Institute of Notre Dame defeated Mercy in the annual event that is simply called “The Game”. This was the 53rd times the teams faced off in what has become a great tradition in Baltimore…
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Continue ReadingFor the sixth straight year the Institute of Notre Dame defeated Mercy in the annual event that is simply called “The Game”. This was the 53rd times the teams faced off in what has become a great tradition in Baltimore girls basketball. Mercy still holds the lead in the series 30-23, but the teams have been going in different directions for a while.
IND has ties to a high level summer program with Coach Robb Dubose being the vice president of Power Move Basketball. Seven players on the IND roster have been involved with the program. Mercy does not have the same ties to players or coaches who are involved on the summer circuit, so the rivalry has been one sided lately.
This version of the game was played in front of roughly 3,000 fans despite a snow storm and temperatures in the 20’s. This was the only game in the area that was not canceled due to weather. This one started with IND running out to an 11-0 lead before Mercy could attempt a shot. Six foot two inch Ajae Petty scored 5 of those points and dominated inside against the over matched Magic players. The lead ballooned to 21-5 at the half at 36-9 after 3 quarters. Junior Eniya Russell led the Penguins with 21 points and took the MVP award for her team. Ajae Petty added 13 points and Tsion Smith had 11. Mercy was led by junior guard Chanell Henson who took home the MVP award for her team. The final score was 69-27.
What learned about “The Game” going forward…
IND is set up pretty well for at least the next couple of seasons. With Two sure D1 prospects including one high major in Russell and Petty, the Penguins return plenty of firepower. With three talented freshmen seeing heavy minutes in the rotation and only two seniors on the roster, Mercy will have their hands full in game 54.
Madison Nimmo, Freshman guard.
Maddie is an excellent floor general. She is tough and knows how to get the team in the right position on offense and defense. She can handle the ball and play the point or slide over and play off the ball. She showed off her range by draining two long threes.
Tsion Smith, freshman guard.
Tsion is a tough minded guard with long range ability. She had two of IND”s ten 3 pointers in this game. She is not afraid of contact and will lock up on defense. Tsion does a lot of the dirty work like rebounding and hustle plays and is usually good for forcing a couple of jump balls every game. I’m looking for her to have a big summer.
Chanell Henson, junior guard
Chanell plays with a ton of heart and intensity. At no point did she throw in the towel. She kept coming and led the team with 9 points. She has speed and an impressive vertical game that helped her draw several fouls and get to the line multiple times. She earned that MVP award.