Ilion was on the cusp of erasing Sherburne-Earlville’s 15-point lead in the fourth quarter. The Bombers had possession of the ball with an opportunity to tie the game. That’s when S-E junior Bridget Irwin imposed her will and burgeoning game on the opposition.

Irwin sniffed out a crosscourt pass, picked it off, and drew a foul driving to the basket. She hit one free throw to make the count a two-possession game. After Ilion closed the gap again with a layup, Irwin stepped up again. She drained an open 15-foot shot that back-rimmed high, then swished through. On the ensuing defensive possession, she ripped a defensive rebound out of the hands of an Ilion player, drawing another foul. Showy icy-calm nerves, Irwin put the game away with a pair of free throws.

Those three plays all happened in the final minute of play, and is a microcosm of Irwin’s 2009-2010 season. “She does things quietly, and nothing seems to bother her under pressure,” said S-E head coach Karen Mulligan, who has coached Irwin the past four years on junior varsity, and now varsity. “She just strives to do her best in pressure situations.”

Irwin is among the team leaders on a Sherburne-Earlville club that has won six straight games since an opening-game two-point loss, and she is this week’s co-Evening Sun/Smith Ford LLC Athlete of the Week.