Dialog reporter
BEAR – Caravel capitalized on second and third chances, along with a balanced scoring attack, to earn a 53-47 win over Ursuline in a highly anticipated nonconference girls basketball game Jan. 9. The Raiders mounted a furious fourth-quarter comeback, but they came up a few points short.
The Buccaneers, ranked first in the state by 302Sports.com, and No. 4 Ursuline played an even first half. Caravel used its height advantage to grab a number of offensive rebounds, scoring most of its points inside as it took a 24-22 lead into intermission. Ursuline stayed close thanks primarily to senior guard Maggie Connolly, who scored 13 points in the half.
Caravel forward Kendra Warren, who has scored in double digits most of the season, was held to two first-half points, but she opened the third by backing down a defender and hitting a short jumper. Sasha Marvel and Kaylee Otlowski followed with field goals, extending the lead to eight, before the Raiders’ Lauren Dorsey got her team on the board with a bucket.
The Bucs, however, took advantage of several second and third chances to continue to grow the lead, and after three quarters, they were up, 42-30.
Ursuline would not give in, and Connolly’s third three-point shot of the evening pulled the Raiders within six at 44-38 with 5:15 to go. The defense forced a Bucs turnover, and Taelynn Brooks halved the deficit with another triple.
After Warren and Dorsey traded field goals, Warren extended the lead to four with a free throw. Allie Olmstead scored to make it a two-point game. Ursuline got the ball back with a chance to tie, but they could not get a shot to fall. Warren added one more layup, and Karli Cauley made four free throws in six attempts in the final minute and change to seal the win.
Connolly led all scorers with 24 points. The Raiders, who suffered their first defeat in three games against Delaware opponents, fell to 4-5. They play another out-of-state foe, William Penn Charter (Pa.), on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Philadelphia University.
For the Buccaneers (4-3), Marvel had 13, and Otlowski had 13, along with 12 rebounds. Caravel stays home for its next game, hosting St. Elizabeth on Friday at 7:15 p.m.
