The St. Jude Raiders took home the eighth grade girls title at the 2017 Morrissey Classic with a 48-29 victory over the Gesu Bulldogs on Sunday evening at Court 1 on the campus of Gilmour Academy. The interior play of Daniela Shaughnessy and Alexandra Heidt yielded a pair of double-doubles and 28 combined points, while Gemma Fillippi added nine rebounds in the winning effort. Lilli Lang rounded out the wealth of contributions with 10 points, one rebound and two assists.

St. Jude came out sharp on both sides of the floor, taking an 8-0 lead in the first three minutes of the contest. Shaughnessy was a presence in the frontcourt, tallying three points and corralling four rebounds throughout the early outburst. The Bulldogs responded and cut the margin in half with baskets by Caitlyn King and Lucy Castellanos, but Lang knocked down two three-pointers to reclaim a comfortable 15-6 advantage after the first quarter. Shortly thereafter, the Raiders rattled off a 9-0 run, led by Alexandra Heidt and Shaugnessy – who recorded a double-double in the first half alone. St. Jude held down the fort for the remainder of the first half, maintaining a 15-point lead at the intermission. The Raiders sustained a margin of at least 13 points for the remainder of the game, using passes from Ella Raimondi (four assists) for open looks at the hoop. A three-point play in the post from Shaughnessy sealed the deal, giving her a final line of 17 points, 20 rebounds and high fives from her coaches.