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The 6-2 Irish, who haven't lost a CVC game since the end of the 1999-2000 season, had WW-P South flustered and out of its game almost from the start. ND went on a 19-2 run right out of the blocks and never looked back as it held the 5-3 Pirates without a field goal until 34 ticks into the second period, and to only 10 points for the entire first half.
"Our goal is to get better every game and play good defense," DeMille said. "Tonight we got a lot of easy baskets in transition, which we haven't been doing."
Able to run and pound the boards hard, which some CVC teams aren't always allowed to do, ND did everything right. It shot 16-for-28 for the half and 21-for-45 for the game. It made 23 of 30 free throws led by Wexler's9-for-10 accuracy, and also won the rebound war, 41-24, led by Campbell's 17 boards.
ND, No. 3 in The TrentonianArea Top 20 and No. 7 in the State Top 20, also hit two buzzer baskets-- a 3-pointer by Wexler from past NBA range to close the first period, and a 2-pointer by Bridget Catanese to end the half.
To its credit, WW-P South didn't quit, even though it did not have the horses to keep up with the Irish. But the Pirates tried, especially guard Rashanna Edwards, who waged a bruising battle with Wexler all night.
"I loved it," said Wexler, who is doing what DeMille wants by playing superbly at point guard without sacrificing points.
"Tonight I stepped it up more, because I feel more confident," said Wexler, who opened the game with great backdoor layup passes to Catanese and Reddy, and went on to score 10 of her points in the first half. Then she shot 7-for-7 at the line in the second half to cap off the best game of her three-year Irish career.
"Teams will double up on Michelle, so we need Danielle and Jackie to score, and also use our other options," DeMille said.
"I like playing against West Windsor because they're always a physical team that comes after us," added DeMille. "Nothing is ever easy with them, from buzzer to buzzer."
That's a trademark of Beth Fitzpatrick-coached teams, and why the Pirates won the CVC Colonial Division title last year.
"We're just too inexperienced this year," Fitzpatrick said. "We had nothing to lose tonight; we weren't supposed to win. But we played hard and the girls kept going after them. That's what pleased me most.
"We were so keyed up at the start, I think it hurt us," she said, reflecting on 10 early turnovers and 2-for-10 first half shooting.
"It was one of those nights nothing worked for us, but we never stopped fighting. I thought Rashanna did a great job and never backed down, and Lindsay Williams battled all night."
Williams, who went home with an ice bag on a bruised left eye, led the 5-3 Pirates with nine points, all coming in a last period when she also had nine boards.
For the ever-improving soph it was a step in the right direction, too.
