NEWARK – Ursuline played good defense in the first quarter Wednesday night.
The Raiders added some good offense in the second quarter, and Sanford had no answer. Ursuline pushed the pace on both ends of the floor and ran to a 48-16 victory over the Warriors in the semifinals of the DIAA Girls Basketball Tournament at the Bob Carpenter Center.
A crowd of 2,219 saw the top-seeded Raiders (22-1) win their 21st straight game. Ursuline will shoot for its third consecutive state title – 17th overall – against Caravel at 7 p.m. Friday. Fourth-seeded Sanford finished its season at 19-4.
“Once our kids started playing and got comfortable, they did a really good job tonight,” Raiders coach John Noonan said.
Both teams looked jittery early. Ursuline built a 12-6 lead after one quarter, and neither team scored in the first three minutes of the second quarter.
Then the Raiders got it going, racking up seven points in 45 seconds. Kryshell Gordy drove for a layup, Maggie Connolly dropped a 3-pointer and Yanni Hendley-McCalla scored on a fast break. Just like that, Ursuline led 19-6 and the Warriors scrambled for a timeout.
“We’ve just got to run,” Noonan said. “… When you get like a 6-0 run, momentum swings in your favor. Defensively, we were kind of locked in. I think we did a really good job defending the posts.”
Connolly kept the run going with a fast-break layup. Allie Kubek finally answered for Sanford with 2:45 left in the first half, the Warriors’ first bucket in 6:48. But Olivia Mason hit a free throw and Connolly converted Alisha Lewis’ steal and assist for a 24-8 halftime lead.
“We just wanted to keep pushing the ball,” Lewis said. “That was our game plan the whole time. Just keep pushing, because they have a lot of bigs. As long as they keep running, they get tired and we don’t get tired.”
The onslaught continued in the third quarter, with Lewis doing most of the damage. The sophomore point guard drove for a layup, hit a free throw, drained a 3-pointer and canned a 12-footer. Then Connolly made two foul shots, and Lewis popped a baseline jumper to make it 36-10.
“There are games when Alisha doesn’t shoot,” Noonan said. “Tonight, she was shooting the basketball. When she does that, and then Maggie is doing her typical thing and Yanni is playing ball, it’s awesome.”
Connolly wound up leading the Raiders with 15 points, while Lewis had 14 points and six assists and Hendley-McCalla scored 12. Just as importantly, Ursuline outrebounded the taller Warriors 34-21, with Mason pulling down 10 and Gordy collecting seven.
Sanford shot just 20 percent (8 of 40) from the field. Lauren Park, Samantha Pollich and Olivia Tucker led the Warriors with four points each.
Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ
St. Elizabeth’s Alexis Bromwell (32) dribbles the ball down the court in the quarterfinals of DIAA Girls Basketball Tournament at the University of Delaware against Caesar Rodney.
The Ursuline bench celebrates as the Raiders increase their lead against Sanford in the first half of a DIAA state tournament semifinal Wednesday at the Bob Carpenter Center.
Sanford’s Kendra Warren (left) and Ursuline’s Lindsay Brown eye a loose ball in the first half of a DIAA state tournament semifinal Wednesday at the Bob Carpenter Center.
Ursuline’s Kryshell Gordy saves the ball in the first half of a DIAA state tournament semifinal Wednesday at the Bob Carpenter Center.
Sanford’s Allie Kubek (left) fouls Ursuline’s Yanni Hendley-McCalla in the first half of a DIAA state tournament semifinal Wednesday at the Bob Carpenter Center.
Ursuline’s Kryshell Gordy (center) tries to get a rebound in front of Sanford’s Samantha Pollich (left) and Raider Olivia Mason on Wednesday at the Bob Carpenter Center.