Ursuline welcomes Chantal's challenge

The girls basketball season is a long, grueling process.
At Ursuline, it doesn't really begin until February, when the Irish travel south to Hanoverton for the sectional-district tournament.
Of course, all that is done with one thing in mind: winning the district championship and playing four-time defending state champion South Euclid Regina -- again.
The Irish and Regina have met in four of the last five regional tournaments, with Regina winning by an average score of 67-40.
On schedule
Ursuline's late-season date with Regina, which is becoming a bittersweet tradition, has motivated the Irish to strengthen its schedule even more.
Since Boardman and Fitch left the Steel Valley Conference for the Federal League, Ursuline must work harder to fill home dates.
"We wanted to try to get a big team to come in and play," Ursuline coach Sean Durkin said. "We didn't want to play the normal team. We thought we'd be pretty good, and we wanted a challenge at home."
They've got one -- Mount de Chantal of Wheeling, W.Va., which travels to Ursuline High gymnasium Saturday for a 2:30 p.m. varsity start.
"I started to see stats on them, and I didn't know if we wanted that much of a challenge," Durkin joked.
International level
Tom Jenkins of Ohio Girls Basketball Magazine & amp; Scouting Service calls Chantal, "The United Nations of girls basketball."
It's easy to understand why. Chantal players come from Africa, Austria, England, Finland, Romania and Yugoslavia, entering into the school's international program, focusing on academics while playing athletics and hoping to be seen by college scouts.
Because it's a private school with a boarding program, Chantal is not eligible for state championships. The Lions are still ranked No. 1 in West Virginia's small-school division.
"The point of playing is to have a quality program that has the opportunity to play in games that mean something throughout the regular season," Chantal coach John Rowan said.
"For us, the regular season is the championship."
Durkin describes Chantal as "huge." Alice Jamen, a 6-foot-3 post player from Africa who averages around 15 points and 20 rebounds, has committed to Ohio State, and she's surrounded by players that stand 6-4, 6-2 and 6-1.
"We play very aggressive and force teams to change their style," said Rowan, who emphasized his team's offensive balance.
Durkin was intrigued with the idea of playing Chantal.
"That's why we play these teams," he said, "so when February rolls around, we're more of a tested team."
No let-up
With an 11-1 record, Ursuline is off to another hot start. The Irish play host to Akron Hoban on Thursday before the anticipated meeting with Chantal.
Leading Ursuline's attack is Tyra Grant. The 5-foot-11 sophomore is averaging nearly 20 of Ursuline's 65 points per game, while Michigan State recruit Courtney Davidson was scoring 15 points per game and handing out nine assists.
"We're much harder to defend and we're playing great defense," Durkin said. "We seem to be taking teams out of what they're doing offensively."
The Irish are hoping to return to full strength after a recent bout with pink eye, the flu and junior Tiffany Walsh's tailbone injury.
"The schedule is getting tougher now, and hopefully we'll become better in the next five to 10 games," Durkin said.
Chantal -- and its international flavor of players -- is a good place for Ursuline to begin its ascent toward the postseason.
XBrian Richesson covers high school sports for The Vindicator. Write to him at richesson@vindy.com.