Powell leads Ursuline girls past rival

By Greg Gulas

YOUNGSTOWN — Dropping their first two games of the season was a gut-check for the Ursuline girls basketball team.

Winning the next three outings, including Saturday’s 62-36 victory over rival Cardinal Mooney, signals that Coach Sean Durkin has his team pointed in the right direction.

Courtney Powell had a game-high 15 points while Kaneesha Tensley added 10 as the Fighting Irish (3-2) went over the .500 mark for the first time this season.

“We have a lot of moving parts. We’re 10 deep and our chemistry is now starting to show,” Durkin said.

“Since we aren’t in a conference, we aren’t too concerned right now about our record. However, we must consistently get better for our upcoming schedule which is very challenging, to say the very least,” he added.

The Irish reeled off the first eight points of the game and never looked back as they raced to a 15-6 lead at the quarter and a 31-16 halftime advantage.

“I was pleased with our improvement and most especially with the play of Courtney Powell,” Durkin said. “She shows flashes of brilliance but needs to be more consistent.

“She will give us a quarter here and a quarter there but today she came to play. She gave us exactly what we expect of her every time out,” he added.

Tensley had five of her 10 points in the opening stanza to pace the Irish while Powell and Dominique Jenkins each had four points apiece in the second quarter.

“We struggled the first two games of the season to find the right chemistry, but it looks like we have found the right combination now,” said Powell.

“The key to today’s win was teamwork. Everyone played a part in contributing. We played together as a unit and everyone did what they had to do in order for us to win,” she said.

“My teammates hit me at the right time with passes and I was in the right spot in order to score,” Powell said.

Powell scored eight points in the third period as the Irish raced to a 48-28 lead.

The Ursuline defense allowed just one Cardinal Mooney (1-4) field goal in the final frame, outscoring the Cardinals by a 14-8 margin for the 26-point victory.

“We’re still a work in progress, making baby steps in improvement along the way,” Mooney coach Jack Bermann said. “With our upcoming schedule, however, we need to make more than just baby steps.

“Ursuline is a very good team and a tough team for us to match up with,” he said. “Their inside game and pressure, especially when they throw what seems like 10 fresh players at you consistently is a tough task to handle.

“We still have good days and some bad days, but we are improving and that is a good sign. There were some bright spots today and we’ll build on that as we look toward our upcoming opponents,” Bermann said.

Katrina Larson had a team high 12 points for the Cardinals.