Dialog reporter
WILMINGTON – The top-ranked Ursuline basketball team, in the middle leg of a challenging three-game stretch to end the regular season, built up a 15-point lead over No. 4 Caravel on Feb. 18, then survived a spirited comeback attempt by the Buccaneers to grab a 40-36 win in nonconference action. It was Senior Night at Ursuline, and the Raiders finished their home schedule undefeated at 6-0.
Ursuline used its trademark hounding defense to take control of the game early on. Caravel’s Sasha Marvel found Grace Lange following a steal for the quick 2-0 lead, but that was all the scoring the Bucs would do in the opening eight minutes. The Raiders answered with the final nine points of the first.
Caravel found a way to break the Raiders’ press in the second quarter and began connecting on some shots, and they cut the deficit to just 14-11 at one point. A pair of free throws by Ursuline, followed by a putback by Kay Wulah, changed that to 18-11, and the teams would trade three-point plays before the half. Maia Bryson drained a three-point shot for Caravel, but Yanni Hendley answered with the old-fashioned three-point play.
After scoring the final points of the first half, Ursuline kept the offense coming in after the break. They started the third on an eight-point run, going ahead 29-16, before the Bucs’ Kaylee Otlowski scored down low to end the run. The lead was 11 heading into the final frame.
The Raiders took their biggest lead at 36-21 in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, but Caravel did not quit. After struggling with ball security and shooting during the third, the Buccaneers started getting around the press and found success driving along the baseline. Kaylee Otlowski and Ondia Brown led the charge underneath, and a three-pointer by Karli Cauley cut the deficit to 38-30.
Defensively, the Bucs turned up the heat, and they got results as Ursuline committed a few turnovers. An 11-2 Caravel run brought them to within six at 38-32, but Alisha Lewis scored on a driving layup for Ursuline to get the lead back to eight. The Buccaneers scored twice more in the final 11 seconds, but they did not have enough time to complete the comeback.
Lewis led the Raiders with 10 points, and Hendley and Olivia Mason added nine each. The Raiders (18-1) will finish the regular season on Tuesday, when the travel to Concord for a 5:15 p.m. start.
Caravel received nine points from Marvel and eight each from Brown and Otlowski. The Bucs (13-6) close out their regular season on Wednesday when St. Thomas More visits Bear. Tipoff is at 6 p.m.
