Poland bests Ursuline, captures district crown

March 1, 2019 at 12:10a.m.

AUSTINTOWN

Aggressive steals by Poland’s Killer B’s (Sarah Bury, Kailyn Brown and Brooke Bobbey) propelled the Bulldogs to their first regional championship appearance in 19 seasons.

The Bulldogs harassed the Ursuline Irish into 15 first-half turnovers in a 65-51 win in a Division II district final at Fitch High School. Unbeaten Poland has won 25 straight games.

“We average about 91/2 a game,” Ursuline coach Vannessa Dickson said of the giveaways. “That was definitely a big difference-maker.

“They came out and hit us from the beginning and we just never recovered.”

Bobbey and Bury made four steals each while Brown and Jackie Grisdale had three apiece.

“It feels amazing, such an accomplishment,” Bobbey said of Poland’s first district championship since 2000.

The Bulldogs had to withstand a strong surge led by Ursuline’s Dayshanette Harris in the third quarter. Harris led all scorers with 30 points.

“We had to stay calm, cool and collected,” said Bury, who scored 17 points. ”Our intensity was down in the third quarter, but we kept it together.”

The Bulldogs jumped out to a 24-14 lead after one quarter. They opened the second quarter with an 8-0 run that had the Irish (17-8) desperately trying to catch up the rest of the game.

“That is their speciality — get up, make sure they are causing chaos, not letting the other team get comfortable in their offense,” said Nick Blanch. Poland’s 10th-year head coach. “They did their role tonight.”

As the final seconds were ticking off the clock, Blanch said he was “holding back tears, to be honest, I know where this group started way back in fourth and fifth grade.

“It’s been a long road and to see them get that satisfaction of holding up the district trophy, it gets you in the back of the throat, it really does,” Blanch said.

Ahead 15 at halftime, the Bulldogs (25-0, Northeast 8 champions) had to withstand heroics by Harris, who smacked her left elbow on the court during a hard collision early in the third quarter.

“I was in the air pretty high and I didn’t fall safely,” said Harris, Mahoning County’s all-time leading scorer with 2,428 points. “I couldn’t feel my hand for a second.”

Ursuline’s trainers wrapped her bruised elbow and she missed about a minute of action.

The University of Pittsburgh recruit returned to score 10 points and make two steals as the Irish sliced the Bulldogs’ lead to 50-41 after three quarters. Within a minute of her return, she unraveled her bandage because it was restricting her arm movement.

“She’s an amazing player ... the nicest girl, such a great player,” Bury said.

Bobbey added, “It’s a challenge — she can do anything: drive, shoot from the arc. You just have to be ready for whatever she’s going to do.”

Bobbey said the goal was to disrupt Ursuline’s offensive flow.

“Defense wins championships and we ... got our steals and kept our defense uptempo.”

Bobbey said the Bulldogs sensed the Irish players’ frustration.

“We could tell on the floor that they were getting a little snippy with each other,” the sophomore guard said.

Also scoring in double figures for the Bulldogs were Grisdale with 13 points and Brown with 12. Bobbey scored nine.

In their final game for the Irish, Lindsay Bell scored 10 points and Anyah Curd six.

Dickson credited the Bulldogs for playing tough and being disciplined.

“They were ready to play and were focused,” Dickson said. “Every time we tried to match a run, they’d bring one right back at us.

“They work hard, they get into the passing lanes, very aggressive.”