Irvington Girls Bring Home Championship (VIDEO)

After cruising past Jamestown 69-49 on Wednesday, Irvington stepped onto the hardwood and faced off against the Mount Vernon Lady Knights in the girls finals in the Slam Dunk Tournament at the Westchester County Center Thursday afternoon.

Alexis Martins and Brittany Lai are unbelievable talents capable of carrying a team; and they absolutely did their part in the Bulldogs 77-52 win but it was truly a team performance.

“The role players on this team are not role players anymore,” said Irvington Head Coach Gina Maher. “Brittany and Alexis are great but the other girls are more than just role players. They all played a great team game today.”

The Bulldogs picked up right where they left off. Brittany Lai was on fire from the start. Lai compiled 21 points on 9-13 shooting, including 3-5 from 3-point land, in the first half alone.

Irvington shot over 50 percent for the half and Mount Vernon shot under 35 percent which led to the Bulldogs carrying a 43-28 into the half.

Alexis Martins is an absolute nightmare for opponents to deal with in the offensive and defensive paint but today it seemed as if she might have met her match. Mount Vernon’s Lubirdia Gordon, listed at 6’4’’ and is an absolute beast under the glass. Gordon grabbed 19 boards and scored 20 points but Martins still ended up with 23 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals.

“You’ve got to love playing games like this,” said Martins. “Lubirdia is a great post player. She has size, strength and knows how to score down low. The only way to get better is to play against great players and Lubirdia is definitely a tough opponent.”

Gordon would have normally been filling the lane and preventing any Bulldogs from penetrating the lane but with Martins on the floor, Gordon’s attention was constantly occupied which allowed Irvington to get to and finish at the basket.

Senior forward Marley Giddins was the unsung hero of this one. Giddins provided support for Martins in the paint and recorded herself a double-double with 11 rebounds and 13 points against some of the toughest competition in the post the Bulldogs will face all season.

The battle down low was crucial but Lai stole the show in the championship round. Lai followed up her 20-point performance in the opening round up with an outstanding 25 point effort (and eight assists) to secure her team an early season championship.   

“We practice so much and just try to execute in the games,” said Lai. “Everything we did in the game today we have gone over in practice. Everyone on this team wanted this and worked really hard for it. We played great as a team today and I’m proud of everyone.”

When asked to explain her feelings on winning the MVP award, Lai only had a few words to say.

“I’m just happy we won.”

Winning is always a confidence builder but Irvington did not just win. They dominated the competition. With some early season hardware under their belt, the Bulldogs feel good about the rest of their season.

“We take things one thing at a time,” said Maher. “We had a number of goals at the start of the season and we take one step at a time. This was just another one checked off the list.”

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