GIRLS BASKETBALL Ursuline wins behind Grant

The standout senior had 20 points in a 51-41 win over Canfield.
By DOUG CHAPIN
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
YOUNGSTOWN -- Ursuline High standout Tyra Grant scored 11 of her 20 points in the third quarter, leading the Irish from a six-point halftime deficit to a 51-41 victory over Canfield in a girls basketball game on Wednesday.
Trailing 25-19 at the half, Grant scored seven points in an 11-2 Ursuline run that left the Irish ahead 30-27 midway through the third period.
Irish have big run
Canfield briefly regained the lead 31-30 on consecutive baskets by 6-foot-2 sophomore Kate Popovec, who finished with 23 points, but Ursuline then went on a 19-2 run to open a 49-33 lead with five minutes remaining.
Grant scored eight points in the run and fellow senior Vannessa Dickson, making her season debut after recovering from a broken ankle, scored five of her 11 points in that time.
Ursuline coach Sean Durkin said he wasn't upset at halftime.
"I actually was happy with where we were considering what had happened in the game," he said. "We played a poor second quarter, Canfield was living at the foul line and we were only down six.
"We made a couple of adjustments in our full-court press and started trapping them more. That caused them to turn the ball over a little and got the tempo going and Tyra made a couple of shots to get us going. They did a good job on her in the first half, although she did have some good looks.
"When she gets her game going, our kids feed off of that."
Cardinals young
Canfield coach Pat Pavlansky said Grant's quick second-half start also affected his young team, which has four sophomores seeing plenty of action.
"They have a great player in Tyra and when she scored off a couple of good looks at the basket it gave her team confidence," he said. "At the same time our team lost confidence after she got going.
"It's a confidence issue and we've talked about it with the kids but we are very young. That's not an excuse, it's just the way it is.
A 3-pointer by Natalie Fox in the final seconds of the first half left Canfield with its 25-19 lead. The Cardinals went on an 11-5 run from a 14-14 tie early in period two. Six of those points were from the free throw line, where the visitors were 10-for-14 in the first half.
Hot shooting Irish
The Irish then went to work with a 9-for-16 shooting performance in the third quarter, including Grant's 5-for-9 with two assists. She finished with five assists on the night. Dickson added 11 points, six steals, four assists and four rebounds. Danielle Crafter came off the bench and contributed four points and seven rebounds.
"You could tell early how important Dickson is to us, just thought her leadership," Durkin said. "She affects how the others play, plus I think she's one of the better players in the area.
Overall, Durkin said he's pleased with his team at this stage of the season.
"In some areas of the game, [such as] our effort, I'm pleased," he said. "You can't question our effort so far in any of our games.
"But we can do a better job executing on offense. All in all, I like our attitude."
Pavlansky also has good things to say about his team, which played without 6-foot senior Danielle Pavlansky (flu).
"I'm not one who does a lot of boasting in the media, but I'm not trading my team for any other," he said. "I like them and I know we are capable of much better. We are still learning how to fit all the pieces together and we've played some very good teams who have exposed our weaknesses.
"We got better tonight," he continued. "We were in control at the half and we have to feel good about that. We've got to figure out how all the pieces fit in the puzzle, but we'll keep getting better."
Popovec hits 23
Besides her 23 points, Popovec also had nine rebounds and three blocked shots. The Cardinals won the rebounding battle 26-22 but Ursuline dominated on the perimeter. The Irish recorded 19 steals and forced eight Canfield turnovers, while committing just five miscues themselves. The Irish shot 38 percent (24-for-63) from the field. Canfield shot 45 percent but attempted just 33 shots (14 made).
Perhaps the most telling statistic of the effect Ursuline's pressure defense had in the second half was that the Cardinals could get off only 15 field goal attempts in the entire second half.