Notre Dame girls basketball claims inaugural CVC Tournament crown
February 17, 2025 at 10:28 a.m.
Beth Fitzpatrick’s assessment of her team was expressed by her clothing.
The head coach for the Notre Dame High, Lawrenceville, girls’ basketball team arrived at West Windsor-Plainsboro North High School on Feb. 15 wearing a shirt adorned by a heart.
It was a gift from her husband Sean, but became an emblem for her squad as it readied for the inaugural Colonial Valley Conference Tournament championship game against Ewing.
“It was all planned out,” the Irish alum said. “I said if we won Wednesday (in the semifinals against Princeton) I would put on my leather pants. Sean had gotten me this shirt and this is what my team is about – heart.”
Fitzpatrick’s game plan compared favorably with her fashion sense as the third-seeded Irish topped fourth-seeded Ewing, 47-35, in a contest it never trailed.
“It feels great,” said junior Caroline Foley, who scored 10 points, including her career 500th. “This is history. We’re the first team to win the CVC Tournament (which replaced the Mercer County Tournament) and it just shows how hard we work throughout the season.”
Notre Dame (15-8) thwarted Ewing’s running game, didn’t let it get much inside in the halfcourt sets and pushed the pace against the quicker Blue Devils whenever possible. The Irish didn’t allow star guard Lillie Alston play to her strength of points off transition and penetration.
Notre Dame's Alayna Ramirez displays the CVC Tournament MVP trophy she won after collecting 10 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals in the championship win over Ewing. Rich Fisher photo
“We knew that Lillie liked driving a lot,” said senior Meghan Connolly, who led all scorers with 14 points and added four rebounds, three assists and five steals. “We tried to focus on staying in the paint and keeping them out because we knew their weakness was shooting.”
Foley added that, “We knew they were gonna run and they were fast. We had to get back and stop them from scoring any easy points.”
Senior forward Izzy Diaz played a big role with five rebounds and five blocked shots.
“Izzy was a powerhouse today,” Foley said. “She took it to them.”
Notre Dame held Ewing to 14-for-48 shooting and forced 15 turnovers as Fitzpatrick harkened back to her former coach as an ND player.
“Defense is what wins games,” she said. “That is what John Simone instilled in me and that’s what all my teams want to do. In order for us to win this game it had to come from the defense, and the offense would come from that. They bought in. They love defense.”
The 18-18 halftime score was the game’s third tie. It was also the last, as Notre Dame opened the third quarter with 12 straight points to take control.
“That was huge,” Fitzpatrick said. “I kept thinking ‘They’re gonna call a timeout,’ but they didn’t, so that helped us.”
Foley felt the run provided a spark and “we kept the same energy throughout the second half.”
Ewing got no closer than seven for the remainder of the game. Scoring came from everywhere, as Diaz added eight points and tournament MVP Alayna Ramirez contributed 10 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals.
“It means everything to win this,” Ramirez, a senior, said. “We’ve been working hard. We had a new coach, a whole new team. It took a lot to get used to playing with each other but I think after a while we all came together. I found my place with these girls and they made me feel I was contributing. I couldn’t do it without them.”
The upperclassmen were obviously nervous when James Martinos stepped down in the summer, but Fitzpatrick soon calmed their fears.
“It’s been amazing,” Connolly said. “We were all scared when we heard our coach quit, but she’s been nothing but great to us and we’re lucky to have her. We met her and we knew it would be a good season.”
“Coach Fitzpatrick has so much positive energy with the girls,” Ramirez said. “Even if we made mistakes, we were feeding off positive feedback. That contributed to keeping our mental state throughout the game, throughout the practices. It is very uplifting and helps 100 percent.”
Fitzpatrick is a child of Notre Dame as she, her husband and mom all went there and her father, Vince Ardery, is a former ND baseball coach/athletic director. Asked to put it all in words, she choked up and said, “I am totally emotional right now, it feels awesome. I’m so blessed.”
There were other ND legacies involved. Reserve Victoria Bucchere’s father, Lou, was a former ND star who played on the Trenton State College (now The College of New Jersey) national finalist. Foley’s brother Will is the leading scorer on the Irish boys team. Her older brother Luke was the hero of the Irish boys’ upset of Ewing in the 2023 MCT semifinals. Caroline watched that game, as just hours earlier the Blue Devils beat her Irish team in the semis.
“It was good to come back and win it after that one,” Foley said with a smile. “Me and my brothers work hard every day and it shows on the court.”
Assistant coach Carla Maccaroni also played for the Irish and was Martinos’ assistant.
“I’m so happy for coach Maccaroni,” Fitzpatrick said. “She’s Notre Dame through and through. I’m so lucky to have her. This win is most important to her.”
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Beth Fitzpatrick’s assessment of her team was expressed by her clothing.
The head coach for the Notre Dame High, Lawrenceville, girls’ basketball team arrived at West Windsor-Plainsboro North High School on Feb. 15 wearing a shirt adorned by a heart.
It was a gift from her husband Sean, but became an emblem for her squad as it readied for the inaugural Colonial Valley Conference Tournament championship game against Ewing.
“It was all planned out,” the Irish alum said. “I said if we won Wednesday (in the semifinals against Princeton) I would put on my leather pants. Sean had gotten me this shirt and this is what my team is about – heart.”
Fitzpatrick’s game plan compared favorably with her fashion sense as the third-seeded Irish topped fourth-seeded Ewing, 47-35, in a contest it never trailed.
“It feels great,” said junior Caroline Foley, who scored 10 points, including her career 500th. “This is history. We’re the first team to win the CVC Tournament (which replaced the Mercer County Tournament) and it just shows how hard we work throughout the season.”
Notre Dame (15-8) thwarted Ewing’s running game, didn’t let it get much inside in the halfcourt sets and pushed the pace against the quicker Blue Devils whenever possible. The Irish didn’t allow star guard Lillie Alston play to her strength of points off transition and penetration.
Notre Dame's Alayna Ramirez displays the CVC Tournament MVP trophy she won after collecting 10 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals in the championship win over Ewing. Rich Fisher photo
“We knew that Lillie liked driving a lot,” said senior Meghan Connolly, who led all scorers with 14 points and added four rebounds, three assists and five steals. “We tried to focus on staying in the paint and keeping them out because we knew their weakness was shooting.”
Foley added that, “We knew they were gonna run and they were fast. We had to get back and stop them from scoring any easy points.”
Senior forward Izzy Diaz played a big role with five rebounds and five blocked shots.
“Izzy was a powerhouse today,” Foley said. “She took it to them.”
Notre Dame held Ewing to 14-for-48 shooting and forced 15 turnovers as Fitzpatrick harkened back to her former coach as an ND player.
“Defense is what wins games,” she said. “That is what John Simone instilled in me and that’s what all my teams want to do. In order for us to win this game it had to come from the defense, and the offense would come from that. They bought in. They love defense.”
The 18-18 halftime score was the game’s third tie. It was also the last, as Notre Dame opened the third quarter with 12 straight points to take control.
“That was huge,” Fitzpatrick said. “I kept thinking ‘They’re gonna call a timeout,’ but they didn’t, so that helped us.”
Foley felt the run provided a spark and “we kept the same energy throughout the second half.”
Ewing got no closer than seven for the remainder of the game. Scoring came from everywhere, as Diaz added eight points and tournament MVP Alayna Ramirez contributed 10 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals.
“It means everything to win this,” Ramirez, a senior, said. “We’ve been working hard. We had a new coach, a whole new team. It took a lot to get used to playing with each other but I think after a while we all came together. I found my place with these girls and they made me feel I was contributing. I couldn’t do it without them.”
The upperclassmen were obviously nervous when James Martinos stepped down in the summer, but Fitzpatrick soon calmed their fears.
“It’s been amazing,” Connolly said. “We were all scared when we heard our coach quit, but she’s been nothing but great to us and we’re lucky to have her. We met her and we knew it would be a good season.”
“Coach Fitzpatrick has so much positive energy with the girls,” Ramirez said. “Even if we made mistakes, we were feeding off positive feedback. That contributed to keeping our mental state throughout the game, throughout the practices. It is very uplifting and helps 100 percent.”
Fitzpatrick is a child of Notre Dame as she, her husband and mom all went there and her father, Vince Ardery, is a former ND baseball coach/athletic director. Asked to put it all in words, she choked up and said, “I am totally emotional right now, it feels awesome. I’m so blessed.”
There were other ND legacies involved. Reserve Victoria Bucchere’s father, Lou, was a former ND star who played on the Trenton State College (now The College of New Jersey) national finalist. Foley’s brother Will is the leading scorer on the Irish boys team. Her older brother Luke was the hero of the Irish boys’ upset of Ewing in the 2023 MCT semifinals. Caroline watched that game, as just hours earlier the Blue Devils beat her Irish team in the semis.
“It was good to come back and win it after that one,” Foley said with a smile. “Me and my brothers work hard every day and it shows on the court.”
Assistant coach Carla Maccaroni also played for the Irish and was Martinos’ assistant.
“I’m so happy for coach Maccaroni,” Fitzpatrick said. “She’s Notre Dame through and through. I’m so lucky to have her. This win is most important to her.”
The Church needs quality Catholic journalism now more than ever. Please consider supporting this work by signing up for a SUBSCRIPTION (click HERE) or making a DONATION to The Monitor (click HERE). Thank you for your support.