IRISH FIND LUCK IN OVERTIME

YOUNGSTOWN OH- After a great Saturday win against the Chaney Cowgirls which ended a four game losing streak, the Lady Irish were back at the Cafaro Gymnasium, the Lyden Family court has they hosted the Austintown Fitch Falcons who were in need of a bounce back, trying to get their sixth win of the season after a bad loss to Boardman on Saturday.  Many wondered if the lady Falcons would be able to hang with the Irish, especially since it looks like that they got their momentum back.  

 

First Half 

Well at the start of the first quarter, it was a shocker to some as the Falcons swarmed in for an early 10-0 run and the irish would call a timeout down 12-3, with a three pointer and a couple inside the paint by a 6’2 sophomore in Jocelyn Jourdan and a few field goals by Zayda Creque and Chelsie Wheeler.  The Irish would get their first three by Lily Scott and then some two’s by Alayna Smith and Meredith Gray.  At the end of the first, it was the Lady Falcons up 16-7.  

 

During the second, the Lady Falcons were pulling away a bit, but the Lady Irish made the comeback as senior guard/forward Anisah Moorman would be fouled a few times as the Irish got into striking distance along with a three by senior guard Cara McNally.  The quarter would end however thanks to some buckets by Creque making it 26-25 Fitch at the half.  

 

Second Half 

The second half got interesting as it became a back and forth battle between these two teams.  In the third quarter for the lady Ursuline Irish, there was a three made by McNally which got the shooting going once again as it was going a bit ice cold.  Meanwhile, the lady Falcons would strike as Creque made two three pointers along with two pointers from freshman Ayla Ray, and Jourdan, taking the lead 38-36 going into the fourth.  

 

In the fourth, we knew that these two would not go away from each other and these two were neck and neck.  On Ursuline’s side, Rachel Fabry who was mostly silent throughout the game shows that when it’s crunch time, she prevails hitting a three which gave the Irish the lead for a bit, until Creque and Wheeler came back once again with buckets on their own. Creque would try a three with only a few seconds to go, but the shot was missed.  Scott would try the same for Ursuline but instead, the shot was too late getting off the ground and we were going into overtime for some excitement with the score being tied at 47 all.  

 

Overtime

This is where the tide would turn however as the Irish found their Lucky Charms that they were missing as in just minutes, the game went from a tie to an 11 point lead thanks to the tantum power of Moorman and Smith as they combined for ten points.  Ray would get a two and you’d also have the 5’7 senior in Emma Barlett getting a three for the Falcons, but it was not enough as the Irish improved to 9-8 with a 65-56 victory in overtime.  

 

Ursuline Stats 

For Ursuline, it was Anisah Moorman who scored a high of 25 points and 13 made free throws.  Teammate Alayna Smith had 12, Lily Scott had some great shots made on the night scoring nine points, Cara McNally had eight, Rachel Fabry finished with seven points and Meredith Gray finished with four points off the bench.  

 

Austintown Fitch Stats 

For the Lady Falcons, it was Zayda Creque finished with 16 points, Jocelyn Jordan with 14 points, Chelsie Wheeler finished with 10 points, Ayla Ray had six, Maddy McCann finished with five, Emma Barlett finished with three, and junior Julia Senediak finished with two points.  

 

Up Next 

Ursuline (9-8) will host the Bristol Panthers (9-2) who just got a 38-23 win against Crestwood.  Tip-off is for 6:30.  Austintown Fitch (5-12) will head to Howland to play the Tigers (5-8) according to their website.  

 

*Contributed by YSN’s Ian O’Brien*