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South Range tops Ursuline for district title
By Greg Gulas
STRUTHERS
During his tenure as head girls coach at Lowellville High School, Tony Matisi led the Rockets to seven district titles.
The eighth, coming during his initial season as head coach of the South Range Raiders, might just be the sweetest of them all.
Morgan Czopur scored 20 points and Ashley Sharp added 10 as South Range beat Ursuline, 50-39, to capture the Division III district championship, 50-39 Saturday at the Struthers Field House.
The Raiders turned a one-point halftime deficit into their first district crown since the 1997-98 campaign. They outscored the Fighting Irish, 32-20 in the second half.
“From day one Coach Matisi and his staff pushed us, telling us to go out, play hard and have lots of fun in the process,” Czopur said. “They told us never to give up and all season long that is how we played. It’s been 16 years since we’ve won a district title so this is an absolutely great feeling.”
While Matisi was leading the Rockets to a 23-4 overall mark last year and their fifth consecutive district title, the Raiders suffered through a 13-11 campaign and were bounced in the tournament’s second round, losing to eventual district champion United.
The first-year head South Range coach has led his Raiders to a 17-game turnaround thus far.
“From day one this group bought into what we we’re selling, Matisi said. “I cannot start a sentence or story without talking about our two seniors, Sierra Petrella and Starla Sharp,” Matisi said. “This group of 12 players worked so hard and listened intently each time we were together. Sierra was an extension of us on the court and a senior leader that every team desires. She was the best captain that I have ever had.”
The game featured five ties, 10 lead changes and an 11-point first quarter with South Range (23-3) holding a narrow 7-4 margin after the first eight minutes of play.
It was a rather inauspicious start to a game which featured two opponents that have an uncanny ability to control the ball offensively.
With Ursuline’s Tanaya Beacham forced to the sideline after drawing her third foul of the game at 6:55 of the second period, Arsenia Georgopoulos and Simone Comer picked up the slack by combining for nine points as the Fighting Irish (12-11) forged a 19-18 halftime advantage.
Czopur’s eight points and five points by Sharp after intermission helped the Raiders open a 36-29 lead heading to the final quarter.
“As a freshman in 2011, we came close but lost to Ursuline in the finals, so today’s win is very special for me,” Sharp said. “Words cannot describe my feeling and how we feel right now as a team.”
A bucket by Beacham with 4:50 remaining cut the Raiders’ lead to 40-33, but that was as close as Ursuline got the remainder of the way as Sharp answered by connecting on two charity tosses for a 42-33 margin and a lead they could not relinquish.
“With a new coaching staff coming into the season, we were afraid as a team that they were going to change up everything,” Petrella said. “They did make a few changes, but have gotten the best out of all of us thus far and that has been the key to our success.”
The Fighting Irish controlled the boards, owning a 27-20 rebound advantage while South Range forced 20 Ursuline turnovers and converted those miscues into 10 points.
“Foul trouble hurt us early and took us out of some of the things that we wanted to do,” Ursuline coach Sean Durkin said. “We couldn’t stop their dribble penetration and the things that we didn’t do well all season long hurt us again today.
“I told our girls to remember this feeling and come back hungry next year. South Range was very deserving of this win today.”