The women’s varsity basketball team, under the direction of Head Coach Mrs. Lisa Finn, will open Class 4A Sectional tournament play on Feb. 2 against Warren Central, with the game scheduled to tip off at 7:30 p.m. at North Central.

Should the Irish win the opener, they will face defending State champion Lawrence North in the semifinal round on Feb. 5.

About her team’s chances in the Sectional, Finn said, “I feel pretty good about our draw.” The team lost to Warren Central in November, 70-56, but according to Finn, they did not play as well as they could have. Finn said, “We’ve obviously been beaten by Warren Central previously this season, but didn’t play our best game. I think we can definitely compete with them.”

Although the Irish lost to Warren Central in the third game of the season, Finn said she believes that the team has improved since then. She said, “I think we’re stronger as a team physically and mentally right now than we were then, and I think that’s a positive thing for us. I think we’re playing a lot better together as a team and we’re playing a lot better just overall in general than we were then.”

According to Finn, some of the keys to beating Warren Central include preventing dribble penetration and stopping Warren Central forward Asiah Baxter.

The Sectional includes Crispus Attucks, Lawrence Central, Lawrence North and North Central, along with Warren Central. Finn considers it to be one of the toughest in Indiana. She said, “From all the Sectionals in the whole entire state, there are two that I wouldn’t want to be in, and this is one of them.” The other Sectional she mentioned includes Zionsville, Fishers, Hamilton Southeastern, Carmel and Westfield. Finn said, “Either way you look at it, both are going to be really, really hard and a lot of really good teams (will be) eliminated pretty quickly in the tournament.”

Finn believes her team is ready. She said, “I think that at this point in the season we’ve just got to come focused and ready to play no matter who it is.”