Ursuline, Rootstown roll in Div. III

Jaleesa Beverly scored 18 points to lead the Irish past Campbell.

By JOHN KOVACH

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

MINERAL RIDGE — Strong offensive starts helped Ursuline to roll past Campbell Memorial and Rootstown to sail past East Palestine, in opening play of the girls Division III sectional tournament Monday night at Mineral Ridge High Gymnasium.

Jaleesa Beverly scored 13 of her 18 points in the first half as the Irish built a 30-13 advantage at intermission en route to a 58-33 win over the Red Devils.

Ashley Christani scored nine of her 17 points in the first half while Monica Mims and Paige Berger also combined for 13 points over that same span, as Rootstown constructed a 24-6 halftime lead and coasted past East Palestine, 54-30.

Ursuline (14-7) advanced to play Columbiana Thursday at 6 p.m., while Rootstown (16-5) moved on to face Girard Saturday at 6 p.m.

“Jalessa [Beverly] was tough to stop inside,” said coach Sean Durkin of Ursuline (14-7) which dominated the first game. Beverly had eight points in the first quarter as the Irish went ahead, 15-6.

And, “[Kaneesha] Tensley did a nice [defensive] job on the [Naetay Jones-Logan],” added Durkin. “[Jones-Logan] is a very good player. She got away from us in the second half.”

Jones-Logan and Daniella Bell each scored 13 points to lead Campbell (4-15).

Ursuline also dominated the rebounds with a 26-9 advantage, Victoria Miles grabbing six of them while also scoring eight points. Shamia Harrison also had eight points for the Irish.

“It was a good group effort. A lot of people got some court time,” said Durkin, who likes his team’s depth. “We go pretty deep all the time. We got some players some experience.”

In the second game, East Palestine had a tough time coping with Rootstown’s defensive pressure, and was hampered by turnovers and also poor shooting. The Bulldogs scored only six points in the first half and one point in the second quarter.

“That [30 points] equals our lowest scoring night of the season,” said coach Bill McKinstry of East Palestine (5-16). “In the first half, we seemed like we were in slow motion.”

But, “They were a lot more aggressive. We were step slower. It was disappointing.”

Ashley Christani had four 3-point goals for Rootstown. Mims finished with 13 points and Berger with nine.

“Our defensive pressure on the outside helped us,” said coach Tom Dieghan of Rootstown, noting that East Palestine’s offense didn’t handle the ball well. “We’re used to defensive pressure. We try to score 80 percent of our points in transition.”

Logan Guy scored 14 points to lead East Palestine, while Jesse Gamble added eight and Lindsey Gatchel six rebounds and six assists.

“We got a lot of good shots in the second half,” said McKinstry. But, “We had a bad half and a bad [second] quarter. We never have put in a full game all season.”

kovach@vindy.com