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Ursuline stops Columbiana’s streak
Ursuline v Columbiana
Gallery
Ursuline stops Columbiana’s streak
By Tom Williams
STRUTHERS
With four sophomores in the starting lineup and a bright future ahead for the Ursuline High School girls basketball team, it’s easy to see why senior Simone Comer is as happy as anyone to qualify for the regional tournament.
“It’s big, we finally got it done,” said Comer after Saturday’s 60-46 victory over Columbiana in the Division III district final at Struthers Fieldhouse. “I came close my freshman year; now we’re finally here.”
Wednesday at 8 p.m. at Cuyahoga Falls High School, the Irish (15-10) will play Garrettsville in the regional semifinals. It will be Ursuline’s first trip to the regional since 2011.
Dayshanette Harris led the Irish with 31 points five steals and three rebounds. Comer contributed 12 points, five rebounds and four blocks.
“They are good, they know what they are doing,” Columbiana senior Mariah Rovnak said after the Clippers’ 25-game unbeaten streak was ended. “I guess we weren’t really ready for the speed.”
Especially in the third quarter. The Irish dominated most of the first half, opening up a 12-point lead. The Clippers closed the second quarter by scoring the last six points to reduce Ursuline’s lead to 30-24.
Less than three minutes later, the game was all but over as the Irish scored the next 12 points.
Ursuline coach Vannessa Dickson said her message at halftime was not to panic.
“I told them that we’ve been here before,” Dickson said of the tighter contest against an unbeaten team. “Basketball is about a game of runs and they made a run at the end of the half.”
After Anyah Curd scored a basket from underneath, Harris scored on three drives then added another after Comer hit for a basket.
“I feel that we play pretty good basketball when we are playing at a high pace, attacking the hole,” Dickson said.
Columbiana coach Ron Moschella said his halftime talk was about ”going to the hole,” hoping to put the Irish in foul trouble.
“It was like I said, ‘Don’t go to the hole,’ ” Moschella said with a laugh. “We would make some crucial turnovers [but] it wasn’t like our kids weren’t trying.
“They had the two best guards on the floor,” Moschella said. “They were amazing and I think that was the difference.”
The biggest scare the Irish endured came in the final two minutes when Harris crashed into the Ursuline bench and laid on the floor behind the chairs for a couple of minutes before walking off a leg injury.
“I hit my leg on a chair,” Harris said. “I’m good.” Harris said she’s had her shares of sideline collisions.
“This one hurt more,” she said. “It actually hurt.”
The pain didn’t stop her from returning in time to celebrate the end of the game.
“We played like we deserved this,” Harris said.
Alexis Cross led the Clippers (25-1) with 14 points and Rovnak scored 12. Sophomore Kennedy Fullum played with a fracture in her lower leg. She scored three points and made four rebounds.
“She showed a lot of guts,” Moschella said.
In addition to Rovnak, Columbiana loses seniors Brittany Mook, Danielle Yannssens and Taylor Logan.
Rovnak said she didn’t envision an unbeaten regular season.
“We set goals, but told ourselves to take it one game at a time and we’ll see where we go,” Rovnak said. As the wins piled up, we set new goals.
“We never made it a goal to go undefeated, but once we got there, it felt good,” Rovnak said. “I’m very proud of my team.”