GIRLS BASKETBALL Ursuline loses to Mount De Chantal in OT, 65-59

Courtney Davis scored 30 points for the Irish, who had a height disadvantage.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mount De Chantal (W.Va.) High girls basketball coach John Rowan has only seen Ursuline senior Courtney Davidson play once in person.
That was enough.
"I wouldn't want to be opposing defenses for the next four years," he said. "Heck, I wouldn't want to be opposing defenses for the next six weeks. She's a great player and they have a really good team.
"I think they'll play very well in the tournament in March."
The Irish played very well on Saturday, but the Lions' height advantage and depth eventually won out, as visiting Chantal pulled away for a 65-59 overtime win.
"Games like these really help us," said Ursuline sophomore Vannessa Dickson. "They bring out your weaknesses and show you what you need to work on."
Tall team
Unfortunately for Ursuline, the one thing they couldn't work on was height. And the Lions had plenty.
Chantal's starting lineup included three players 6-foot-2 or taller, including senior center Alice Jamen, an Ohio State recruit from Cameroon, Africa.
Jamen scored 16 points -- including eight after the third quarter -- and grabbed 16 rebounds as the Lions rallied from an 11-point third quarter deficit.
"I just think their size wore us down," said Ursuline coach Sean Durkin.
"We fought for 31/2 quarters, but we had to play so hard to compete. But if we can bottle that kind of intensity, we're going to be very hard to beat."
Not enough
Davidson, a Michigan State recruit, collected 30 points, four rebounds and four assists as the Irish took a 44-37 lead into the fourth quarter. But Ursuline shot just 1-for-6 in the quarter, and the Lions got a 3-pointer from guard Anca Popovich (Romania) with 55 seconds remaining to tie the score at 52.
The Irish had two chances to win the game, but missed both shots -- including Davidson's off-balance 3-pointer just before the buzzer.
"We had a fourth-quarter lapse that just killed us," said Dickson, who scored 17 points. "We were tired and I think we lost our focus for a little bit."
The Lions (13-5) scored the first seven points of the overtime period and made 4-of-5 free throws -- their only attempts of the game -- to close it out.
"At halftime, we talked about how we wanted to use our height advantage to wear them out," said Rowan. "And we made a few 3s that forced them to come out a little bit on defense."
Leaders
Tyra Grant, who averages 19.5 points per game, scored just eight points, but added six rebounds and gave the Irish a valuable inside presence. Rebecca Slattery had nine rebounds.
When asked if this is his best team, Durkin said, "We think so. We're much more balanced and now we have Dickson as a viable third option, to go along with Courtney and Tyra. We're much tougher to defend.
"We'll see what happens down the stretch."
Senior Chantelle Handy, a 6-2 forward from Durham, United Kingdom, scored 14 points and Sylvie Tafen, a 6-4 center from Cameroon, added eight points and seven rebounds for the Lions.
Chantal, a private boarding school in Wheeling, plays 36 games a year -- including 30 on the road. The school, which is not eligible for state championships, draws players from across the world.
"This was a terrific atmosphere," said Rowan. "The crowd was great and the girls were excited to play. It was really a fun game for us."
scalzo@vindy.com