Ursuline freshman Yanni Hendley-McCalla (right) drives against Padua on Dec. 17. The Raiders start play in the Diamond State Classic on Sunday.
Ursuline basketball coach John Noonan doesn’t know who his leading scorer will be from game to game.
But the opponent doesn’t know, either, and the Raiders are hoping to use that to their advantage.
Ursuline will take a balanced approach into the Diamond State Classic, as the annual high school girls basketball tournament celebrates its 25th anniversary Sunday through Wednesday at the St. E Center.
“We can do it by committee,” Noonan said. “If a kid is having a tough night, there’s another kid ready.”
The defending state champion Raiders will be the only Delaware team in the Saint Francis Healthcare Cup, DSC’s eight-team national bracket. Ursuline will open against Jamesville DeWitt of DeWitt, New York, at 7:30 p.m. Sunday.
“We’re just trying to play the best possible teams,” Noonan said. “The Diamond State Classic offers that locally. Great teams come in each year, and it’s really nice to be able to play against high-level competition and stay home for Christmas. It’s fantastic.”
The Raiders are still adjusting to the graduation of Adrianna Hahn, the three-time Delaware Sportswriters and Broadcasters Association Girls Basketball Player of the Year who is already Villanova’s second-leading scorer (10.6 points per game) as a freshman.
“We definitely have kids with basketball talent,” Noonan said. “It’s just about them gaining the experience needed to lead the team. A lot of our talent is young. They’re really, really skilled, but experience is lacking.”
The Raiders are 3-1, their only loss coming 55-47 to National Christian Academy of Fort Washington, Maryland, in their season opener. Their second game – a 65-60 win over Bellarmine Prep of Tacoma, Washington, showed how deep they can be.
Ursuline got 29 points off the bench, and 11 different players scored in a close game. Sophomore guard Maggie Connolly, freshman guard Alisha Lewis, senior forwards Kailyn Kampert and Sabriya Harris, junior post player Kryshell Gordy, senior guard Alyssa Irons and sophomore Olivia Mason are among the leading contributors.
“We have some kids that are so unselfish that we’re telling them, ‘You have to shoot the ball when you’re open,’” Noonan said. “That’s what makes us tough to guard. We can’t pass up open looks, because everybody is capable of knocking down a shot.”
No. 2-ranked St. Elizabeth stepped out of the national bracket and into the four-team Delaware Cup this year. But the Vikings face a formidable task at 7:30 p.m. Monday against Damascus (Maryland), which is 7-0.
“They’re going to be a big challenge for us,” St. E coach Dan Cooney said. “This is actually the only out-of-state game we’re playing this year, against Damascus, so the kids are looking forward to it. It’s a little bit different.”
The Vikings are 3-0, with easy wins over Woodbridge, Caesar Rodney and Sussex Central. Returning starters Alanna Speaks (5-foot-10 junior), Sarah Metz (5-8 junior) and Lexi Bromwell (5-5 junior) have led the way, along with 5-10 eighth-grader Julie McCarron.
“I was a little bit worried in the beginning, before the games started, with how they were going to react,” Cooney said. “But they really have been playing better than I thought they would at this time.”
Wilmington Friends will kick off the DSC against William Penn at 10 a.m. Sunday, part of the four-team New Castle Insurance Cup. St. Mark’s will follow against Oxford (Pennsylvania) in another New Castle game at 11:45. Then four Saint Francis Healthcare Cup games will follow, capped by Ursuline’s opener.
Caravel and Padua will compete in the First State Orthopaedics Cup, with the Buccaneers meeting Seton Keough (Maryland) at 12:30 p.m. Monday and the Pandas following against Central Bucks East (Pennsylvania) at 2:15. Howard will take on Caesar Rodney in the other Delaware Cup first-round game at 5:45 Monday.
For a complete, four-day tournament schedule, go to www.diamondstateclassic.org.
Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ