IRISH FAST OUT OF THE TOURNAMENT GATES
By Matt Maher
YOUNGSTOWN, OH – Some nights are just your night and the fighting Irish came out and brought the pain against a tough Bombers team who, at times, looked very similar in play style and skill to Ursuline but those few glimpses weren’t enough for Kenston to overcome to giant that is Ursuline and the Irish found themselves with a massive 48-29 victory in round 1 of the OHSAA playoffs!
Ursuline came out with a fast start in the first and used that momentum to carry them toa 12-7 lead after the frame. The Bombers had two players score in this frame but the one who stood out the most was Morgan Cicero who found 3 points including a made free throw and a gritty 2 through a lot of traffic, she would be the main playmaker for her team as well and showed good ball movement throughout the game. Kennedy Carpenter led by example in this game, with 4 first quarter points she was on her way to a dominant night. Carly Casey found the first triple of the night while Lily Scott went 1-for-2 from the stripe and found 2 more points in the paint.
The Bombers played a much more locked down defensive 2nd quarter and ended up outscoring Ursuline 5-4 and only trailed at halftime by 4 points. Cicek added her team’s first three of the night and led her team with 6 points at halftime. Nia Burney and Brooklyn Brown combined for the 4 points for Ursuline both with 2 points within the arc. Ursuline was contributing from all parts of the court and had done a good job of defending against some quick attacks from Kenston, the Irish would also be the benefactors of several turnovers that helped them maintain possession.
Ursuline came out off the break energized and ready to rumble and their 13-8 3rd quarter proved that their offense was rejuvenated but their defense still needed some tweaks. Cicek would add 2 more points to her team leading total but couldn’t get past the long arms of Ursuline which was a common theme throughout the night. Carpenter found 5 huge points for her team with two 2’s and 1-of-2 made free throws while Lily Scott smashed a long 3 right through the basket.
Ursuline went into the 4th quarter wanting to leave no doubt that they belong in this playoff tournament and with 8 minutes to prove that they were the better team the Irish pulled together their best offensive frame of the night with 19 points and held Kenston to just 9. Cicek would add another 2 pointer and would finish as the only Bomber in double digits with 10 points. Kennedy Carpenter was pure magic with an impressive 10 points in the quarter she would be the sole leader in points scored with 19 on the night! Meredith Gray found her first 4 points of the tournament while Carly Casey added 3 more points with a double and 1-of-2 made free throws.
Ursuline showed some fantastic bouts of offense throughout the night and used Kennedy Carpenter’s fantastic night to propel them past the Bombers and move on to the next round. Kenston showed good offensive possessions but left many empty due to either overshooting the ball or the Irish defense getting in the way and to be fair Ursuline also had some trouble shooting the ball in this game too but found ways to tighten up their offense and get the job done. The Bombers finish their season in Youngstown with a 8-15 overall record while Ursuline improves to 13-10 overall and gets ready for a huge showdown up in Ashtabula on Saturday when they take on the 3rd seed Edgewood at 7:00PM.
