For The Dialog
HOCKESSIN — Top-ranked Ursuline traveled to No. 2 Sanford on Wednesday and saw its 12-game winning streak ended in a 56-53 loss. Ursuline should not feel too bad, as Sanford ran its own streak to 17 games; the Warriors’ only loss came on Dec. 17 at St. Elizabeth.
The highly anticipated matchup featured the state’s two best players, Ursuline’s Adrianna Hahn and Sanford’s Alison Lewis. Each lived up to the hype, as Hahn had 25 points and Lewis 22.
Sanford (19-1) jumped out to an early 10-2 lead, but the Raiders eventually found some offense and trailed, 10-9, at the end of the first quarter. The Warriors took advantage of their height and foul trouble for UA freshman Kryshell Gordy to rebuild the lead in the second. Lewis scored seven points in the second, pushing the lead to 22-12, but the Raiders fought back, going on an 8-0 run, including back-to-back three-pointers by sophomore Alyssa Irons, to make it 22-20. A clutch trey by Shauntel Williams as the half expired gave the hosts a 25-20 lead.
The pace picked up in the second half, as did Hahn’s shooting. The junior hit consecutive threes, and sophomore Kailyn Kampert added another. For Sanford, Williams hit another three, and sophomore Chrishyanah Alston went four-for-four from the free-throw line. The quarter ended with Kampert hitting a pair of free throws to bring Ursuline within one at 40-39.
The teams traded baskets in the fourth, and the game was tied at 51 when Lewis drove for a layup, made the basket and was fouled. She converted the free throw to give the Warriors a 54-51 lead. Hahn cut it to 54-53, but Lewis ended the scoring with two more free throws.
Two three-point attempts by Ursuline (16-4) in the final seconds did not fall.
This was the regular-season finale for both teams. Tournament seedings will be announced this weekend.
