Howland: Howland, which lost to Boardman in last year's Div. I regional, knew it would have to

Howland: Howland, which lost to Boardman in last year's Div. I regional, knew it would have to replace star center Angela Cape (now playing at Dayton), but the Tigers didn't count on losing junior standout Michelle Rura.
Rura -- once a Div. I college prospect -- has no cartilage in her knee and cannot play basketball again.
"We're kind of stunned," said head coach John Diehl. "We expected her to play. We'll be OK this year, but not as good without Michelle."
Senior Marianne Krezecowski and junior Kristy Krezecowski transferred from Niles this past year and help fill the void for the Tigers, who are in Division II this year.
"We're a lot quicker, but there's no size," Diehl said. "We'll have to take high percentage shots if we want to win."
Ursuline: Ursuline returns six seniors on a team that lost to Regina in last year's Division III regional final. The Irish lost junior Christina Cook for at least part of the season with appendicitis. Sophomore guard Courtney Davidson has played well in scrimmages and will start.
"Hopefully we can recover," coach Sean Durkin said of losing Cook. "Our scrimmages have been going real well and our seniors have been able to contribute leadership."
The Irish go nine deep, and want to repeat last year's success.
"Anytime you win a district title, that's a goal," Durkin said. "We're a pretty veteran team and we go pretty deep. We'll just try to keep the tempo up and run some numbers at people."