Kailyn Kampert scored 12 points for Ursuline on Wednesday.
WILMINGTON – When the Ursuline basketball team arrived at the St. E Center on Wednesday, coach John Noonan knew something wasn’t right.
“I saw it when we they got here,” Noonan said. “I was like, ‘Uh oh. We’ve got some problems.’”
The Raiders were coming off a three-point loss in the semifinals of the Saint Francis Healthcare Cup, the eight-team national bracket at the 25th annual Diamond State Classic. Just 19 hours later, they had to face St. Rose of Belmar, New Jersey, in the third-place game, their third game in four days.
Ursuline’s tank was empty, and it showed in a 47-31 loss to the Purple Roses.
“It was just an energy game, and we didn’t have any energy,” Noonan said. “You could see it in the warmups. You could see it when they announced the names. Their kids had a bounce in their step, they were clapping it up, they were hustling out onto the floor.”
St. Rose was ready from the opening tip, running to a 7-4 lead when Jennifer Louro scored off her own miss and Elizabeth Marsicano beat the Raiders down the floor for a fast-break layup.
The Purple Roses led 16-9 after one quarter and stretched it to 25-13 at the half against the defending DIAA champion Raiders, the only Delaware team to play in Diamond State’s top bracket.
“St. Rose is a tremendous basketball team,” Noonan said. “They shoot it well, they space it well, they have good sets and they have really good players.”
Ursuline (4-3) made a valiant attempt to get back in it, opening the second half on a 12-5 run. Maggie Connolly, Alyssa Irons, Alisha Lewis, Kailyn Kampert and Olivia Mason all scored as the Raiders pulled within 30-25 with 2:05 left in the third quarter.
But St. Rose used superior ball movement and long-range shooting to pull away, closing the game on a 17-6 surge. Sophomore Mikayla Markham hit 4 3-pointers and led the Purple Roses with 18 points. Kampert scored 12 for Ursuline.
“I’m not mad at the kids. I’m not angry with them,” Noonan said. “Little disappointed in the effort, but you know, three games in four days, sometimes it happens. We didn’t have it today.”
Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ