Ursuline, United head to Div. III showdown

By Ryan Jones

MINERAL RIDGE — Division III district semifinal winners United and Ursuline had something in common Thursday night; both went on significant runs to earn spots in the district final.

In the first contest, United sprinted to a 25-7 first quarter advantage against Lisbon and cruised to a 60-39 victory, while Ursuline closed out the fourth quarter on a 15-4 scoring spree to knock off Crestview 71-55.

Ursuline (15-7) will play United (21-1) on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Mineral Ridge High School for the district title. Ursuline will be trying for its first regional appearance since 2006.

With Crestview ahead 45-42 at 2:37 mark of the third quarter Chelsea Bowker committed her fourth foul and had to sit until the start of the fourth quarter.

The Irish took advantage and closed out the quarter on an 8-2 run and took a 50-47 lead into the final frame. Dominique Jenkins, who led Ursuline with 21 points, scored on a rebound put back and hit two free throws as part of the run.

The Rebels cut the lead to 56-51 with about 6:30 left in the fourth quarter on Marissa Newbauer’s layup.

That’s when the Irish went on a 15-4 run to end the game. Victoria Miles scored eight of her 13 points during that span.

Urusline coach Sean Durkin said he knew it was going to be tough sledding against a quality Crestview team.

““We were concerned with Chelsea Bowker, as every team is,” he said. “Her performance on a big stage like this was exactly what I thought it would be. I was proud with how the kids handled the adversity that comes with being in a tight game.”

Ursuline’s swarming defense and full court pressure forced the Rebels into 26 turnovers. The Irish got Crestview into foul trouble, which allowed them to get the ball inside more as the game wore on.

“Our size advantage really came into play when they got into foul trouble,” Durkin said. “We told the kids to keep it simple when they got the ball inside. We wanted to drop step to the baseline and finish. We did a nice job on the offensive glass as well.”

Bowker, who scored a game-high 28 points, scored her 2,000th career point in the second quarter with 1:18 remaining when she made the first of two free throws.

Lucia Petrus scored 12 points for the Irish who put three players in double figures. Miles also grabbed eight rebounds.

Newbauer finished with 18 points for Crestview.

After jumping out to a 25-7 lead, United lost the second and third quarters to Lisbon, 22-15.

United coach Roger Zeigler said a fast start was in order for his team.

“We came out slow against South Range in our first tournament game,” he said. “Tonight we wanted to put it to them right away. I don’t know if we can play much better than we did in the first quarter.”

Lisbon coach Jaime Entrikin said the first quarter was too much to overcome.

“They shot it well, took it to the hoop and we were a bit jittery, which was something I did not expect to see,” he said. “United … established themselves early and we spent a large part of the second and third quarters crawling back into it.”

Maggie Sell tallied 18 points for United, and Maggie Miller added eight points and six assists.

For Lisbon Mindy Jackson scored 12 points and Megan Reynolds added 10.