by Dave Ahlstrand

After a 49-point first-half outburst, the Lady Irish cruised to a 68-22 victory against Dora in the Mansfield Lady Lion Invitational in Mansfield, MO on January 24th, 2024. The Lady Irish were led by junior Peyton Wiseman with a career-high 24 points, junior Lila Griesemer with 12 points, senior Katie Galligos with 11 points. The Hoerschgen sisters, Izzy (freshman) and Gracie (junior) combined for an additional 15 points. The opening round win set up a showdown with top-seeded Licking in the tourney semi-finals.

The Lady Irish applied exceptional defensive intensity to grind out an 18-7 first half lead but shooting hiccups by the green and white enabled the Wildcats to claw back to within 4 points at the end of the third quarter, 22-18. A series of small, offsetting scoring runs kept the game tight in the fourth until clutch free throws by Alice Farmer and Makenna Phipps put the game out of reach. The final score was 36-30. Peyton Wiseman led the Irish in scoring with 11; Katie Galligos added 8 and Lila Griesemer totaled 7. 

The Lady Irish play Mountain Grove in the Mansfield Lady Lion Invitational Championship game Saturday, January 27th at 7:30pm.