Sunday, February 23, 2014
By Greg Gulas
YOUNGSTOWN
The third-seeded Ursuline High girls basketball team scored the first eight points of Saturday’s game and raced to a 51-34 victory over United in the Division III tournament.
The Irish advance to the Struthers district where they will play top-seeded Springfield on Thursday in a district semifinal.
Tanaya Beacham had a game-high 15 points and grabbed eight caroms while Megan Ross added 11 points, including three buckets from beyond the arc in the opening frame to pace the Fighting Irish (11-10).
“Second-chance points were big for us today,” Beacham said. “We’ve penetrated more lately and as a result we’ve gotten some very good looks.
“That’s been the key to our recent success.”
Four points by Macey Gunther helped Ursuline to the early 8-0 advantage.
With the score 10-4, Ross came off the bench to can three consecutive triples during a 70-second span.
“During pre-game warm-ups I really felt good shooting,” Ross said. “My teammates just kept feeding me the ball and the shots kept falling.
“Coach [Sean] Durkin makes us really go at it in practice and that intensity pays off at game time.”
Nine points by Beacham and five more by Simone Comer was the only scoring by Ursuline in the second quarter as they opened a 33-10 advantage.
“Tanaya and Simone did a lot of nice things today at both ends of the court,” Durkin said. “When Megan entered the game, her three quick triples helped crack United’s zone and set the tempo for us the rest of the way.
“We challenged our team not to quit in the second half and they responded by winning the final two periods, 21-19,” Golden Eagles coach Sam Mathias said. “We scouted Ursuline several times and didn’t see them shoot exceptionally well from the outside.
“Credit their offense, however, because they hit shots when they needed to and it was just too much for us to overcome.”
Mackenzie Gatchel scored 10 points to lead United (10-14), last year’s district champion.
“We’re a young team and Ursuline came right out and knocked us in the face,” Gatchel said. “It was just too much for us.”
The Golden Eagles closed the season by splitting their last four contests, finishing with a 4-8 road mark.
The Fighting Irish, who held a commanding 41-23 rebounding edge, have won four of their last five contests and finished 7-5 at home this season.