The Father Ryan girls basketball team doesn’t enjoy the luxury of having a dynamic scorer like Wilson Central’s Kendall Spray, Blackman’s Crystal Dangerfield or East Nashville’s Erica Haynes-Overton.
Father Ryan coach Jason Larkin instructs his team during a break in Wednesday afternoon’s practice.
The unbeaten Lady Irish do, however, have one of the most commonly used sports cliches of all time on their side.
If that old adage “defense wins championships” is true, Father Ryan appears in prime position to produce its first state title in program history.
“You can’t win games without defense,” said Lady Irish senior Olivia Rolick. “We focus a lot on it.”
That much is obvious given the fact that Father Ryan has been limiting opponents to a state-low 25.7 points per game. That’s five points fewer than the state’s second-stingiest team (Middleton, 30.7) and nearly a touchdown less than the Fighting Irish football team surrendered last fall (31.3).
“One of the things we focus on is giving relentless effort,” Rolick said. “That means we’re diving on the ground for loose balls or stepping up and taking a charge. Those hustle plays, that’s what we pride ourselves on.”
That blue-collar approach, which has helped the Lady Irish limit 10 of their first 15 opponents to fewer than 30 points, has undoubtedly been the driving force behind the 15-0 start.
“It’s a team effort,” said Father Ryan coach Jason Larkin, whose squad is averaging scoring 43.4 points. “We’re man-to-man 90 percent of the time, and it comes down to those girls buying in because it’s not a real easy defense. They buy into it and take a lot of pride in doing it right on every possession.
“It really bothers them I think when the ball gets by them or they give up an offensive rebound or points in transition.”
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Father Ryan, ranked second in Division II, has held opponents to a season-low 16 points on two occasions, coasting to lopsided Division II-AA wins over Briarcrest and Pope John Paul II by a combined score of 80-32.
The Lady Irish have held eight additional teams — Lipscomb, Harpeth, Franklin Road Academy, Battle Ground Academy, Bishop McGuinness (N.C.), Mother of Mercy (Ohio), St. Joseph’s Academy (Mo.) and Station Camp — to season-low scoring outputs.
And with each passing win, the thing that has perhaps most impressed Larkin is his team’s focus — something he says is a credit to his pair of two-sport senior leaders.
Rolick, who starred for Father Ryan’s state champion volleyball team last fall, along with classmate Maggie Ryder, a Lady Irish soccer standout, have kept the squad grounded in spite of the squad’s unprecedented success to this point.
“It sounds weird but it really doesn’t ever feel like it’s a streak for us; it really just feels like one game,” Rolick said. “It never feels like we’ve put them in a string together, it’s just been focus on this game then we’ll focus on the next.
“I don’t think any of us are going in thinking, ‘Oh we’re 15-0, this will be easy.’”
Keeping that mindset would be wise, especially considering the most difficult portion of Father Ryan’s schedule, including a pair of games against defending DII-AA champ Brentwood Academy, is still in front of them.
And while Friday’s opponent, Ensworth, suffered a 14-point defeat to the first-place Lady Eagles on Tuesday, Larkin expects the Lady Tigers to be among his team’s toughest opponents to date.
“They’re a good team, and I definitely think it will be a good test for us,” said Larkin, whose teams have managed just two wins over Ensworth in their last 13 tries. “They’ve got really good players — really athletic players who can put it on the floor and get to the rim — and some great shooters like Jordyn (Cambridge).
“It’ll be a really good test for us.”
Reach Michael Murphy at 615-259-8262 and on Twitter @Murph_TNSports.
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FATHER RYAN
Record: 15-0
Scoring offense: 43.4 points per game
Scoring defense: 25.7
Fewest points allowed: 16 (twice, Briarcrest, Pope John Paul II)