For The Dialog
WILMINGTON – Fans were packed into the bleachers, seated along the baseline and standing in the corners to get a glimpse of No. 1 Ursuline and No. 3 Concord on Feb. 23. The hosts completed a 15-5 regular season with a fast start and a 50-41 victory.
The final margin was just nine points, but when the game started it looked like Ursuline would blow away undefeated Concord. Senior Kailyn Kampert converted two free throws to get her Raiders rolling. Her classmate, Sabriya Harris, took adavantage of her Senior Night start, scoring twice inside on fast breaks, and Alisha Lewis nailed a jumper for a quick 8-0 lead.
Ursuline scored most of its points in transition, as the team’s pressure defense caused all kinds of havoc with Concord, which came in undefeated at 19-0. The Concord Raiders committed a half-dozen turnovers in the opening minutes, leading to easy Ursuline points.
Concord finally got on the board when Jamiyah Dennis hit a pair of free throws, but Ursuline finished the quarter on a 13-3 run to end the first up, 21-5.
Harris had five more points during that run. She said Senior Night usually has the opposite results.
“We normally come out slow on Senior Night because of the emotions, and we wanted to start fast,” she said.
Concord settled down and played Ursuline fairly evenly the rest of the way. The visitors stayed close in the second quarter thanks in large part to free throw shooting. Zhan’e Snow hit six of eight from the line in the second. Ursuline maintained a 16-point lead at halftime on a three-pointer by Harris and two free throws from Maggie Connolly.
Concord played very well underneath and got some momentum early in the third quarter, but they could not get the lead below 12 points. The Raiders trailed by 14 headed to the fourth but got things going as a Wynter McLaughlin layup brought her team within eight at 48-40, but there was not enough time to complete a comeback.
Ursuline finished a six-day stretch that included victories over the second-, fifth- and third-ranked teams in the state. Coach John Noonan was pleased with his team’s effort.
“As long as we are one point better than our opponent, we win, and I am proud of how we started tonight,” he said.
Harris led the way with 12 points, and Connolly added nine. The Raiders will have a first-round bye in the state tournament when the seedings are announced on Friday.
For Concord, Snow finished with 12 points and Dennis 11. These Raiders play Hodgson on Saturday at 1 p.m. at St. Mark’s in the Blue Hen Conference championship game and also will earn a first-round bye in the playoffs.
