WILMINGTON – Ursuline basketball coach John Noonan had an interesting reaction when he was told that Maggie Connolly had attempted 14 3-point shots on Thursday night.
“That’s not enough, as far as I’m concerned,” Noonan said.
The junior guard connected on five of those and the top-ranked Raiders hit nine from long range overall to come from behind and win their showdown with No. 2 Sanford, 50-40.
“She has to shoot,” Noonan said of Connolly. “When we shoot the 3, we have a chance for long rebounds. We’re not the greatest rebounding team, so it plays into our strengths a little bit. Alisha [Lewis] has to shoot more, Yanni [Hendley-McCalla] has to shoot more.
“Everybody has got a green light. If you’re open, shoot it.”
Ursuline (17-1) shot its way out of an early deficit, hitting four threes in the second quarter to turn a 20-14 deficit into a 35-29 lead. The Raiders kept the Warriors at a comfortable distance throughout the second half on the way to their 16th straight win.
Sanford (16-3) saw its 14-game winning streak end. The Warriors were playing without Olivia Tucker, one of the state’s top long-distance shooters. The 5-foot-9 sophomore has missed the last three games and watched Thursday’s game while wearing a walking boot.
Sanford started three sophomores and two freshmen, but the Warriors had plenty of size in 6-foot Samantha Pollich, 6-foot Allie Kubek, and 5-10 Kendra Warren. And that paid off early.
The Warriors pounded it inside during an 11-0 run, with Pollich hitting three short jumpers, Kubek scoring off an offensive rebound and Warren draining a 3-pointer for an 18-10 lead with 1:21 left in the first quarter.
“We came out ready to play,” Sanford coach Marcus Thompson said. “That was really what I wanted to see. The kids are young, and you never know how they’re going to react. You’re playing the best team in the state right now, on their home court, and we’re short one of the best players in the state in Olivia Tucker. We wanted to see if we could step up and challenge them, and I think we did that.”
A buzzer-beating steal and layup by Lauren Park sent Sanford into the second quarter with a 20-14 lead.
“Their bigs are really good,” Noonan said. “They’re not only big, but they’re talented. They can score, they have real soft hands, good footwork. … With Tucker being out, they just said, ‘Let’s go big.’”
Ursuline switched to a zone defense and added some size when Kayounor Wulah replaced Lewis, who picked up two early fouls. The sophomore paid immediate dividends, scoring from the baseline and dropping a 3 to push the Raiders back in front, 26-25.
Then Hendley-McCalla stepped up with another 3, Kryshell Gordy scored off a rebound and Hendley-McCalla converted a rare four-point play, hitting a free throw after being fouled on a successful 3-ball. Ursuline went into halftime up 35-29.
“We always feel like we’re never out of a game,” Noonan said. “We’ve been down before, so it’s nothing new. We just keep shooting.”
The Warriors pulled within 42-36 on Kubek’s layup with 7:12 to play. But Connolly hit her final 3 and a free throw, and Olivia Mason converted Gordy’s assist to make it 48-36 with 4:33 left.
Thompson knew Sanford’s compact zone defense was going to allow the Raiders to shoot threes, but the Warriors didn’t have enough depth to play man-to-man.
“With the lineup that we had, we had to give them something,” Thompson said. “That’s what we chose to give them. They had some girls come in off the bench, knock some shots down, and some of their key players knocked some shots down. That’s what great teams do.”
Connolly scored 21 and Hendley-McCalla added 10 for Ursuline. Park, Pollich and Kubek each scored 11 for Sanford.
Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ
Sanford’s Allie Kubek looks for room to pass as she’s defended by Ursuline’s Olivia Mason (right) in the second half of Ursuline’s 50-40 win over Sanford at Ursuline Academy on Thursday night.
Ursuline’s Kryshell Gordy (No. 14) puts up a shot in front of Sanford’s Kendra Warren (No. 45) and Samantha Pollich in the second half of Ursuline’s 50-40 win over Sanford at Ursuline Academy on Thursday night.
Sanford’s Lauren Park (left) drives to the basket against Ursuline’s Yanni Hendley-Maccalla (right) in the first half of Ursuline’s 50-40 win over Sanford at Ursuline Academy on Thursday night.
Ursuline’s Maggie Connolly (right) is fouled as she puts up a shot over Sanford’s Lauren Park (left) in the second half of Ursuline’s 50-40 win over Sanford at Ursuline Academy on Thursday night.
Ursuline’s Maggie Connolly (left) and Alisha Lewis (right) trap Sanford’s Kanisha Tucker in the second half of Ursuline’s 50-40 win over Sanford at Ursuline Academy on Thursday night.
Ursuline’s Kryshell Gordy (No. 14) laughs with her teammates after a missing a shot in the second half of Ursuline’s 50-40 win over Sanford at Ursuline Academy on Thursday night.
Ursuline fans cheer after a basket from Maggie Connolly in the first half of Ursuline’s 50-40 win over Sanford at Ursuline Academy on Thursday night.