Ursuline, Crestview advance to district

By Tom Williams

MINERAL RIDGE — Moments after defeating archrival Columbiana for the third time this season, Crestview High senior Chelsea Bowker couldn’t hold back her joy.

“Oh, we are so pumped. I’m excited,” said Bowker after the Rebels (18-4) held off a furious fourth-quarter rally by the Clippers for Saturda’sy 54-49 victory in the Division III sectional tournament at Mineral Ridge High. “Last year, it was rough. We really didn’t make it that far.

“This year, we’re ready,” said Bowker after scoring 28 points, pulling down 12 rebounds and making two steals.

Up next for the Rebels (18-4) is surging Ursuline (14-7), the Steel Valley Conference co-champions.

In Saturday’s opener, Kaneesha Tensley scored 16 points and Aurielle Irizarry 14 as the Irish defeated Garrettsville Garfield, 61-39.

Thursday, Ursuline and Crestview will meet at 7:30 p.m. after Lisbon (16-6) and United (20-1) play.

“Awesome, this is where we want to be,” said Crestview coach Tanja Simione whose Rebels were district champions two seasons ago. “It’s hard to beat a team three times. We know they were capable of getting back into it.”

Trailing 40-22 midway through the third quarter, the Clippers earned the Rebels’ attention with a 13-2 run to reduce the lead to seven with 3:56 to go.

In the final 12 minutes, the Rebels didn’t make a basket but 14 free throws was enough to secure the sectional title.

Columbiana’s physical rally took its toll as the Clippers accumulated costly fouls. Katie Witmer fouled out with 2:57 to go. Hayley Goist and Kaylee Couchenour joined her on the bench in the final seconds.

“They’re competitors,” Simione said of the Clippers. “They’re tough and playing their archrival — they’ll fight to the finish.”

Simione said the Rebels have learned from letting up a little bit down the stretch.

“We started to want to protect the ball and stall it out a little bit,” Simione said. “We weren’t being as aggressive going to the basket.”

The Rebels made 14 of 18 free throws in the final quarter, with Bowker scoring five and Marissa Newbauer getting six to finish with 10 points.

Hillary Phillis scored 11 points and made five rebounds.

For the Clippers, Couchenour scored 17 points while Irene Coy came off the bench to score 10.

“Ursuline is going to be tough,” Bowker said. “We need good practices for four days.”

A Boardman High graduate, Simione played for the Spartans when they were in the SVC.

“They’re so quick and big — it’s just a different style of basketball then what we play,” said Simione of the Irish.

“I’ve got to get the boys in there [in practices] to see if we can match that speed,” Simione said. “Our main focus is to try and break their press — we noticed that Garrettsville had a hard time bringing the ball down.”

The Irish cruised by jumping out to a 32-12 lead at halftime.

“We’ve had some highs and lows, and our lows were pretty low,” Ursuline coach Sean Durkin said. “At one point, we lost five in a row.

“Once we started tasting some success, sometimes with young kids that’s all it takes,” Durkin said. “We’ve put together nine wins in a row.”

Durkin said Bowker has his team’s attention.

“She’s a heckuva high school basketball player,” Durkin said. “Not only can she shoot, but she can get to the bucket and she’s a great passer. She makes everyone else on her team better.”

williams@vindy.com