Preview: James Irwin Jaguars vs. St. Mary's Pirates
James Irwin has enjoyed the comforts of home their last two games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will face off against the St. Mary's Pirates at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Both teams come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Saturday, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, James Irwin beat Florence 29-24.
Romina Lozoya and Stella Reed were among the main playmakers for James Irwin as the former scored eight points along with ten rebounds and three steals and the latter scored four points along with 11 rebounds and eight steals. Lozoya hasn't dropped below eight rebounds for four straight games.
Meanwhile, St. Mary's entered their tilt with Manitou Springs with three consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with four. St. Mary's took down Manitou Springs 56-38 on Wednesday.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead St. Mary's to victory, but perhaps none more so than Jaela Pedro, who scored 13 points along with four blocks and three steals. Another player making a difference was Maeve Salveson, who scored 16 points along with six steals.
James Irwin's win bumped their record up to 2-6. As for St. Mary's, they pushed their record up to 7-1 with that win, which was their third straight on the road.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: James Irwin have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 29.1 rebounds per game. However, it's not like St. Mary's struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 24.6 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
James Irwin was taken down by St. Mary's 69-20 in their previous matchup back in January of 2023. The game was all but decided by halftime, at which point James Irwin was down 53-3.
