Grant nets 35 as Ursuline rolls past Canton Central

The Irish improved to 4-3 with the 60-43 victory.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- Over the first month of the season, Ursuline senior Vannessa Dickson didn't get much of a chance to work on her basketball skills.
But she did work on her yelling skills.
"Oh, definitely," she said, laughing. "I was probably the only voice some of [my teammates] heard."
Dickson, who missed Ursuline's first five games with a broken ankle, scored just six points in Friday's 60-43 win over visiting Canton Central Catholic.
But with a 41-10 halftime lead, Irish coach Sean Durkin had no interest in seeing Dickson log major minutes.
"She's able to do more than we're asking her to do," Durkin said. "We're trying to be cautious. Tonight, we opened a big lead and we didn't want to risk anything."
Getting better
Dickson made her season debut nine days ago in a comeback win against Canfield. She logged major minutes in that game and was a little winded by the end.
"I want to play but I know that the tournament is more important than the regular season," Dickson said. "Hopefully it won't take too long [to get where she wants to be].
"As long as we continue to get better and coach is happy, we're OK."
And as long as senior Tyra Grant keeps playing like she's playing, the Irish will be more than OK.
Setting the pace
Grant, who scored 52 points in a game earlier in the season, had 29 points by halftime of Friday's game and finished with 35.
The Penn State recruit has scored about 1,700 points over her four-year career, Durkin said. By the end of the season, she'll likely join Courtney Davidson as the only Irish players to score 2,000 career points.
"I think about it sometimes just like any person would think about it," Grant said of the milestone. "But I don't approach things like I have to get 'X' amount of points to get to it or that I have to get past 52 points or anything.
"Some people are asking me, 'So, are you gonna get 56 tonight?' But I don't play the game that way."
Had bigger scoring load
Grant took on a bigger scoring load in Dickson's absence but knows that having Dickson back will help the team in all areas, not just scoring.
"She's a big part of what we do," Grant said.
"We got so much better when she came back. We don't want to lose her."
And Dickson has no interest in going back to the bench. How frustrating was it to miss the first five games?
"Oh my gosh, you have no idea," she said.
"I'm a senior and I'm one of the leaders on this team.
"It's really tough when you're stuck on the bench and you can't help."
Other Irish starters
Dickson and Grant -- both four-year starters -- get most of the attention for the Irish (4-3) but they're not the entire team.
Senior Tiffani Miller is a defensive standout, 6-foot center Megan Saccomen keeps teams honest inside and Brittany Armour (who had 11 points on Friday) can take on some of the scoring load.
But the Irish's postseason fortunes rest with Grant, who showed in the first half of Friday's game why she was a first team all-Ohioan last season.
"She played the way she's capable of playing," Durkin said. "She was hitting shots outside, she was taking it to the hole and she was playing good defense.
"If there's a better player in the state, I want to see her."
scalzo@vindy.com