WASHINGTON, D.C.  — The sixteenth-ranked Catholic women's basketball team opened up its highly anticipated 2024-25 season at Franny Murray Court on Saturday afternoon. A stellar defensive effort from the Cardinals a couple with multiple solid offensive performances led the Cardinals to a 67-61 opening night victory over the Hornets.

Catholic opened up with a strong opening quarter on the defensive end, holding Shenandoah to just 3-for-16 from the field to get out to an early 18-9 advantage. Kerry Flaherty started off the game with a three, and Keegan Douglas started off the opening frame with nine points to help get out to the nine point lead.

The Cardinals had their most efficient quarter in the second offensively, shooting 50% from the floor (6-for-12) and were able to extend the lead to 37-24 heading into the halftime break. Douglas put together another solid quarter with nine more points to help the cause and bring her half total to 18.

The Hornets punched back a bit in the third quarter, starting out the half on an 11-3 to cut the deficit down to five at 40-35. Catholic answered with an 11-1 to open the lead back up and Flaherty knocked down another triple late in the quarter to open up the biggest lead of the game, 16, but Shenandoah scored the final seven points of the half to go into the fourth with a nine-point deficit. 

Catholic received a big jolt in momentum when a few minutes into the final quarter, Flaherty and Douglas knocked down threes on back-to-back possessions to open the lead back up to 16b once again. Shenandoah cut back into the margin with a 7-0 run late in the quarter, but Anna Scoblick finished at the rim with 40 seconds left to put the Card back up by nine and they closed out a 67-61 win to get to 1-0 on the season. The win marked the fourth consecutive season-opening victory for the program.

Douglas finished the game with a team-leading 24 points and also added five steals and four rebounds. The game marked the eighth time in her career that she has gone over the 20-point threshold.  

Flaherty knocked down five threes in the contest, which was the fourth time in her career she recorded five or more makes from beyond the arc. 

Carly Mulvaney led the rebounding efforts for the Cardinals with 13, which was the eighth time in her career she's reached double-digit rebounds as she also added nine points and five assists. Scoblick also pulled down 10 boards, which was the seventh time in her career she recorded 10+ rebounds.

Catholic heads to St. Mary's (Md.) for its next matchup of the season when they take on Wesleyan in a neutral site game on Friday, November 15. The game is set to tip off at 5 pm.