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Beasley powers Ursuline to sweep over Mooney
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Aurielle Irizzary (5) of Ursuline attempts to drive past Cardinal Mooney’s Taylor Woytek (34) during the second period of their basketball game Thursday at Cardinal Mooney High School. The Irish defeated the Cardinals, 38-28.
By Greg Gulas
YOUNGSTOWN
When the Ursuline and Cardinal Mooney girls basketball teams hooked up on Dec. 19, the Fighting Irish needed a strong second half finish to pull away for a 51-38 victory.
On Thursday at the Cardinals’ gymnasium, Ursuline’s Sydney Beasley took matters into her own hands to ensure that her team got off to a much-needed quick start.
Beasley made four of her five buckets from beyond the arc in the first half and Ursuline never trailed as the Fighting Irish defeated the Cardinals, 38-28.
“We were trying to concentrate on [Courtney] Powell but Beasley had a very efficient game,” Mooney coach Bill Ritter said. “Credit their defense as well because we never really got into the flow of the game offensively.”
In the first game, Powell registered a double-double (24 points and 10 rebounds) while Beasley was held to just eight points, hauling in seven caroms.
With the Cardinals (7-6) holding Powell to just a bucket in each of the first two periods in the rematch, Beasley was able to torch the nets for four of her triples; two in each frame as the Fighting Irish built a 23-14 first-half lead.
“Everybody keyed on Courtney tonight, but give credit to Sydney because she had the hot hand in the first half for us and was able to knock down her open looks when she had them,” Ursuline coach Courtney Davidson said.
Six points by Beasley and a stingy Ursuline defense helped them race to a 13-8 advantage just eight minutes into the game.
Beasley’s two triples in the second stanza allowed the Fighting Irish to build a nine-point halftime cushion.
“They packed it in defensively, but we were able to hit our open shots when we had them and that was a big key for us tonight,” Beasley said.
The Ursuline (9-5) defense held the Cardinals to single-digit scoring in all four quarters, but both teams struggled offensively after the intermission.
“Tonight was just another typical Ursuline-Cardinal Mooney game,” Davidson said. “There’s really are no Xs or Os, just plenty of heart and hustle in what always seems like a fight to the finish between these two teams.
“We’ve struggled a bit over the past four games, but tonight we were able to do something both offensively and defensively after halftime and that is what we haven’t been able to do the last several times out,” Davidson said.
Larson, who had just four points against Ursuline the first time out, scored a team-high 10 points while Jamie DiDomenico and Macy Marlowe each added six points for the Cardinals.
Irizarry and Powell each scored eight points.
“Costly turnovers hurt us, but we’ll learn for this game,” Ritter said.