St. Patrick Irish team

Members of the St. Patrick Irish team are Kate McDougall, Miranda Windsor, Ella Reed, Petra Chiras, Emma Draeger, Grace Johannsen, Grace Ruppel, Lilia Blankenship, Hadyen Cadwalader, Ava Ritter, Lily Larrison, Emily Clift, Ann Tenuta, Ashlyn Crowley, and AJ Berberich.  Team managers were Sophia Ozella, Maeve Greene, Grace Messmer and Anna Johannsen.  The team was coached by Dustin McDougall, Jerry Lee and Jeff Draeger.

 Mad Media

The Irish of St. Patrick School are the 2022 I.E.S.A. 7A State Champions.  The Irish, playing in their second-ever title game, defeated the defending seventh grade champs, Sigel St. Michael, 22-19 to win the IESA championship Thursday, December 8, 2022, in Assumption, IL.

The Irish advanced to the state title game after two big wins on Saturday, December 3.  St. Pat’s defeated Cambridge Junior High in the opener 26-14, behind 11 points from Kate McDougall and nine points from Hayden Cadwalader. 

In the semi-finals, the Irish played all 15 girls in a 39-6 win over Limestone Walters.  The Irish got 18 from McDougall, seven from Cadwalader, with six points from Petra Chiras, and four from Miranda Windsor. 

In the title game, the Irish trailed throughout most of the first three quarters.  However, shortly into the fourth quarter, a jumper by Cadwalader and an old-fashioned three-point-play by McDougall gave the Irish their first lead at 18-16.

From there the teams battled each other defensively.  With 24.6 seconds remaining, the Irish inbounded the ball deep to McDougall against a ferocious full-court press.  McDougall was able to go the length of the floor for a breakaway lay-up to get the final bucket of the night to seal the Irish victory 22-19.

McDougall finished with 14 in the title game.  Cadwalader added six and Chiras two. 

St. Pat’s set an IESA 7A record for fewest points allowed in a state tournament with 39 points, and a school record for wins.  The Irish finished with a perfect 28-0 record for the season.