Concord’s Wynter McLaughlin (5) defends as Ursuline’s Kryshell Gordy goes to the basket in the first quarter of a DIAA state tournament semifinal game Wednesday at the Bob Carpenter Center.
Ursuline’s Kailyn Kampert defends as Concord’s Wynter McLaughlin drives in the second half of Ursuline’s 40-35 win in a DIAA state tournament semifinal game Wednesday at the Bob Carpenter Center.
A loose ball gets away from Concord’s Caroline Procak (left) and Holly Panchak as well Ursuline’s Kryshell Gordy (14) and Kailyn Kampert in the first quarter of a DIAA state tournament semifinal game Wednesday at the Bob Carpenter Center.
Ursuline’s Sabriya Harris (top) flips a loose ball away from Concord’s Holly Panchak in the first quarter of a DIAA state tournament semifinal game Wednesday at the Bob Carpenter Center.
NEWARK – Concord surprised Ursuline by slowing the pace in their highly anticipated DIAA Girls Basketball semifinal on Thursday night.
The tactic worked most of the way, but when Ursuline earned its own chance to tap the brakes in the final 2:30, flawless execution salted away a hard-earned, 40-35 victory before 2,145 fans at the Bob Carpenter Center.
Top-seeded Ursuline (19-5) advanced to the championship game against third-seeded Sanford at 7 p.m. Friday at the Bob. Concord closed its season at 22-2, with both setbacks coming against the same team.
Ursuline swamped Concord with a full-court press in the first meeting on Feb. 23, forcing 11 turnovers in the first quarter on the way to a 21-5 lead. Concord closed the gap the rest of the way but lost 50-41. So when Concord won the opening tip Thursday, the tournament’s fourth seed ran 1:16 off the clock before its first shot.
“I was a little surprised,” Ursuline forward Kailyn Kampert said. “They’re a really quick team, so I thought they were going to push the ball more.”
The strategy shortened the game, frustrated Ursuline a bit and kept Concord close. Ursuline led 11-8 after one quarter, but Concord scored seven straight on Aahliyah Selby’s 3-pointer, Caroline Procak’s layup off a Holly Panchak assist and Selby’s fast-break layup off a Jamiyah Dennis steal to take a 17-14 lead with 4:16 left in the first half.
Ursuline rallied to take an 18-17 halftime lead on Maggie Connolly’s 3-pointer, but the top seed received a stern message in the locker room after committing 11 first-half turnovers.
“They were playing harder than we were, plain and simple,” Ursuline coach John Noonan said. “They were playing harder, they wanted it more, and we were going to have to earn it. That was the message. It wasn’t an Xs and Os thing.”
Ursuline stretched its lead to 30-24 late in the third quarter, as Kampert scored inside twice, Kryshell Gordy converted Alisha Lewis’ sharp pass into a three-point play and Olivia Mason made a layup and a free throw.
“It worked,” Concord coach John Armstrong said of his team’s decision to slow the pace. “Second half, we just had a couple of minutes where we kind of got out of sync, and that gave them just enough of a cushion.”
Concord mustered one more surge, as Dennis hit two free throws, passed to Panchak for a layup and drove for another score to pull her team within 31-30 with 7:21 to play.
But Ursuline answered with the decisive run. Gordy made a free throw, Lewis popped a stepback 18-footer and Connolly made a sharp cut for a layup to make it 36-30 with 3:23 left.
Concord missed three straight opportunities, and Ursuline got the ball back and ran 59 seconds off the clock before Lewis was fouled a hit one of two free throws with 1:31 remaining. Connolly also made one of two and Kampert hit a pair.
Most importantly, Ursuline had no turnovers while bleeding that final 2:30 off the clock.
“I did think we were going to hit some foul shots,” Noonan said. “We had a five- or six-point lead, whatever it was, and if they foul us we go and sink them and they’ve got to go back down the floor. Don’t give up an open 3, pretty simple.”
The simple approach worked. Wynter McLaughlin’s 3-pointer with 11.7 seconds left wasn’t enough for Concord, the Blue Hen Flight A and overall Blue Hen Conference champs.
“We had a five-minute stretch where we kind of got away from everything, and they capitalized on it,” Armstrong said. “It’s one of those things that happens, but I’m proud of my kids.
“We had a great year, a great season, and we played this team here better than anybody else in the state.”
Kampert led Ursuline with 12 points and six rebounds. Selby scored 10 for Concord, and Panchak battled for nine rebounds.
Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ.