WILMINGTON – Ursuline shook off some early shooting and used a solid defensive effort, plus some clutch shooting, to defeat Howard, 46-38, in the quarterfinals of the DIAA girls basketball tournament on March 6.
Coming off an upset of second-seeded Cape Henlopen two days earlier in Lewes, the No. 15 Raiders were in hostile territory again against the seventh-seeded Lady Wildcats. A large contingent of Raiders fans were in the stands, including a few dozen students, to try to add some home feeling in the sold-out gymnasium.
They were successful, and Ursuline will meet No. 6 and longtime rival St. Elizabeth on Nov. 10 at the Bob Carpenter Center. The game will take place after the first semifinal, which pits No. 4 Smyrna vs. No. 1 Sanford at 6 p.m.
A back-and-forth first half included stretches without a bucket as both teams struggled from the field. Ursuline got on the board first after a steal by Amoree Anderson, who sent a long pass to Naiya Murphy, but that was nearly two and a half minutes in. The Raiders controlled the rebounding throughout the first half, but they could not generate a lead of more than a few points.
Lady Wildcats freshman Kennedi Miller single-handedly kept Howard in the game in the first half. The freshman scored 14 of Howard’s 20 points, mostly by going inside.
Ursuline took a 24-20 lead on field goals by Jada Miskowic and Murphy, but Miller scored twice to tie the score, and Aaliyah Johnson gave Howard the lead with a free throw. It went back and forth for a few minutes, but with the Raiders trailing, 29-27, Murphy got the lead back with a three, and Elise Hopkins drained another before the quarter ended to stretch the lead to four entering the final quarter.
Murphy opened the frame with a steal and fed Anderson, who hit the team’s fourth straight three-pointer and extended the lead to seven. Lykira Davis answered with a triple for Howard, but Ursuline held off the Lady Wildcats with strong rebounding and a big fourth from both Murphy and Anderson.
Murphy had 19 and Anderson 18 for the Raiders, who improved to 13-9. Miller scored 18 for Howard, while Griffin added 11. The Lady Wildcats finished 16-5.
In another girls quarterfinal, No. 3 St. Elizabeth defeated the sixth seed, Padua, by a score of 52-36. The Vikings had three players in double figures, led by Za’Mylah Seda-Owens with 21. Padua’s statistics were not available.
Photos by Mike Lang.
