Rockets soar to eighth straight

Tony Matisi's club defeated Ursuline, 44-31.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
LOWELLVILLE -- For the past few years, Lowellville High girls basketball coach Tony Matisi has been bugging Ursuline coach Sean Durkin to put his team on the Irish's schedule.
"I'll take a butt-whupping if it teaches us something," Matisi said.
Ursuline finally had an opening this season and Matisi, knowing he would have one of his best teams, pounced on it.
Durkin, on the other hand, is in the midst of a rebuilding season. Most years, Lowellville, a good Division IV program, wouldn't be able to beat Ursuline, one of the state's best Div. III programs.
This year was a different story. Junior Ali Grapevine scored 13 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the Rockets to their eighth straight victory, 44-31.
"Lowellville's good," Durkin said before Thursday's game. "This [game] is no joke."
Reputation factor
Matisi knew his team was talented enough to beat the Irish. But he was a little worried that the Rockets would focus on Ursuline's strong reputation.
"I was unsure about playing them because I thought the kids might be intimidated by the name," he said. "But we don't shy away from good non-league competition. And we like big games."
As always, it was the Rockets' defense that made the biggest difference, forcing 22 turnovers. Senior guard Jacque Schrader had five steals to go along with her 10 points and her hustle helps make the Rockets go.
"Jacque disrupts things so much," Matisi said. "She's been fabulous for us all year. She's one of those kids who does everything. No matter what we ask, she does it."
Aggressive defense
Schrader had four of her steals in the first quarter as Lowellville set the stage for things to come, taking a 10-7 lead and forcing nine Irish turnovers.
"[Matisi] had seen them on tape and he told us they were good, but that we could compete," Schrader said. "Defense is our whole thing. That's what makes us a good team.
"I'm not an offensive player. I'd rather play good defense than score 10 or 20 points."
The Rockets (8-1) came out hot in the second quarter, quickly stretching their lead to double digits, 24-10, with just more than two minutes left.
Ursuline responded with a 9-2 run to close the half -- getting seven points from senior center Danielle Crafter -- to make it 26-19. But the Irish offense never got untracked in the second half. It wasn't until the five-minute mark of the fourth quarter that someone besides Crafter or Mary Hendricks scored for the Irish.
"They did a very nice job defensively," Durkin said. "I think we adjusted in the second quarter, but you've got to make shots. I think we were 3 of 21 from the 3-point line.
"Sooner or later, you've got to find a way to make shots."
Irish scoring
Crafter finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds, while Hendricks added 10 points for the Irish (4-4), who entered the game on a four-game win streak. But Ursuline made just 13 of 43 from the field (30 percent) and the Irish struggled to create scoring opportunities.
"We're getting there," said Durkin. "We're certainly better today than we were three weeks ago. And that's a great Lowellville program we lost to. It's not an embarrassment to lose to them."
Senior guard Kaitlin McCarthy had 12 points for the Rockets, who play league games the rest of the way.
"Our conference should be hard," Schrader said. "But I think we can come out on top."
scalzo@vindy.com