HIGH SCHOOL PREVIEW Girls basketball

Who: Ursuline (19-5) vs. Akron Manchester (18-6).
What: Division III regional semifinal.
When: 6:15 p.m. Wednesday.
Where: Mt. Union College, Alliance.
At stake: The winner advances to the regional final at 1:30 p.m. Saturday to face the winner of the Cle. VA-SJ (21-3)-Regina (21-3) semifinal.
Ursuline Coach: Sean Durkin (54-18 in three seasons)
So far: Ursuline makes its second regional appearance in the last three years, having last played in the regional two seasons ago and losing to Regina in the first round. In the postseason this year, the Irish have defeated: Campbell Memorial, 56-29; Girard, 63-47; St. Thomas, 52-41; and Newton Falls, 44-32. The Irish claimed the Hanoverton district championship by taking control immediately after halftime. Top-seeded Ursuline opened the third quarter with a 12-2 run for a 30-15 lead. Senior Dorothy Delboccio led the Irish with 13 points.
Probable starters: Sarah McKelvey (5-9, junior), Courtney Davidson (5-4, freshman), Christina Cook (5-10, sophomore), Delboccio (5-10, senior), Shannon Burley (5-6, senior).
Off the bench: Cathy Walsh (5-9, junior) Meghan Marenenkovic (5-5, junior) Ashley Parry (5-4, Junior) Diana Samad (5-4, senior).
Quote: "Our Steel Valley Conference schedule prepared us well for Division III [tournament play,]" Durkin said.
Manchester Coach: Bob Eckert (106-52 in seven seasons)
So far: Manchester won the Smithville district championship with a 68-55 victory over Doylestown Chippewa, whom the Panthers tied for first place in the Principal's Athletic Conference in the regular season. Manchester's path to the regional semifinal also included victories over Hillsdale, 65-44; Rittman, 75-50; and West Salem Northwestern, 60-47. The Panthers are making back-to-back trips to the regional tournament, having lost last season in the semifinal to VA-SJ.
Leaders: The Panthers are led by Nicole Neila, a 6-foot-2 junior center, who has battled back problems and a concussion this year, but responded to score 29 points in the district final victory. Also playing an important role is Courtney Whitehill, another senior.
Probable starters: Veronica Helms (5-7 junior), Cristina Stone (5-6 senior), Chelsea Nagy (5-3 senior), Whitehill (5-11 senior), and Neila.
Off the bench: Katie Burns (5-7 junior), Katy Gaydos (5-8 junior), and Susan Hawk (5-9 sophomore).
-- George Welker