By D. Matt Dale
MaxPreps.com
Ursuline Academy claimed its 13th state girls' basketball championship with a 47-33 win against top-seeded St. Elizabeth last Friday night before a crowd of 4,300 at the Carpenter Center in Newark.
All-American Elena Delle Donne did not seem to be her usual shooting self early on. Delle Donne’s jump shot was off, but she showed her versatility by driving to the hoop and finding close-range, high-percentage shots. Delle Donne’s ability to create space and find open lanes resulted in a 9-of-21 shooting, 20-point, 10-rebound performance in the legendary senior’s final high school game.
It may be hard to comprehend, but when Delle Donne (Delaware’s all-time leading scorer for boys and girls) doesn’t hit her average of 30 points a game, the rest of the team has to fill in the missing pieces. Senior Shannon O’Hanlon led all non-Naismith Award-winning players with 12 points and had five rebounds. Erin Edwards, Kelley Doogan, Kayla Miller and Karolena Szolack combined for 15 points in the 14-point Ursuline victory. The Raiders shot 40 percent from the field.
St. Elizabeth’s season ended at 17-9 as the Vikings were unable to repeat their 2007 championship. Alex Massado, Joy Rutland and Amanda Craig led St. Elizabeth in scoring with six points a piece. Milana Gilbert added five points, while Symone Woody and Alexis Swarter each scored four in the Vikings' loss.
St. Elizabeth and Ursuline both seemed eager to put up points early on. The Vikings led Ursuline by 6-0 at the outset, with points from Woody, Craig and Rutland.
Ursuline made adjustments and responded by scoring 13 points over the next four minutes, gaining the lead with 2:05 remaining in the first quarter. Ursuline held a 16-14 lead after the first eight minutes thanks to solid efforts from Delle Donne and O’Hanlon.
The Raiders pulled away in the second quarter thanks to stellar play from the team as a whole. Ursuline held the Vikings to three points in the second quarter and went into the half enjoying a 25-17 lead.
The Raiders' lead grew to 34-19 midway through the third quarter. Ursuline outscored St. Elizabeth by 22-16 over the final two quarters.
The win marks Ursuline’s fourth championship in the last five years.
Every girls basketball team in the state can breathe a sigh of relieve as Delle Donne moves onto bigger and brighter things at the University of Connecticut.
Ursuline will have to replace five talented seniors next year, but with its championship and winning reputation, Ursuline should have no problem finding players that will maintain the school's winning tradition.
Boys Basketball: Caravel Exorcise Demons in Win over Newark
Second-seeded Caravel Academy proved the third time really is the charm, beating Newark, 53-50, to win the state championship on Saturday afternoon before 3,145 at the Carpenter Center. After suffering losses in the finals of the 2006 and 2007 state tournaments, the win over Newark ended Caravel’s championship game losing streak. The win also marks Caravel’s first basketball title in school history.
Caravel’s talented starting five accounted for all of the Cavaliers' points in the victory. Senior Tyler Niggebrugge led the Cavaliers in points (22) and set the offensive pace for the entire game. Niggebrugge was 5-of-10 shooting from the field, 9-of-10 from the foul line and contributed five assists and five rebounds.
Dominic Morris shot a perfect 8-of-8 from the foul line and ended with 14 points. Eric Buckland hit two 3-pointers and a foul shot for a seven-point contribution. Erique Gumbs (six points) and Jason Hayward (four points) were responsible for the remainder of Caravel’s 53 points.
The Cavaliers hit 15 of 43 shots from the field and were 18-of-25 from the foul line.
Ninth-seeded Newark ends its season at 19-8 after a surprising performance in the state tournament that consisted of three straight upset wins. In the championship game, The Yellow Jackets were led in scoring by Wayne Covington, who ended his high school career with 17 points. Big man Leyland Tait had a solid game, hitting six of 10 shots for 12 points. Ron Giplaye (nine points), Moses Demby (six points) and sophomore Ronnell Hammond (five points) rounded out the scoring for Newark.
Ultimately, Caravel put an end to Newark’s title hopes by hitting three late foul shots for a 53-47. With time expiring, Newark hit an open 3-pointer.
The game started with a 5-0 Newark run, thanks mainly to aggressive defense from the Yellow Jackets. Niggebrugge eventually got Caravel rolling by hitting a 3-pointer, which he followed with a lay-up on the next possession to tie the score 5-5. By the end of the first quarter, Newark had managed an 11-8 lead.
At halftime the score was 22-20 in favor of Caravel, with Niggebrugge accounting for 13 of the Cavalier’s points.
Early in the third quarter, Newark tied Caravel at 26, with a Demby 3-pointer followed by a foul plus one from Covington.
Caravel regained and held a lead through the third quarter as Morris, Hayward and Gumbs began to heat up. Newark’s offense became virtually nonexistent and the Cavaliers went on a 13-0 run that extended into the fourth quarter.
The 12-point lead Caravel lead (39-27) ignited a fire inside of Newark's Covington. The senior proceeded to score 10 points in the fourth quarter and causing havoc on defense. With Newark down by four late in the fourth quarter, Covington stole the ball from Caravel and passed to Giplaye, who scored to make it a two-point game.
Covington’s momentum was ended when he collided with Buckland in an attempt to intercept a Caravel pass down court. Newark coach Greg Benjamin Sr. had no choice but to take the injured Covington out of the game.
However, Covington displayed the heart of a champion by returning to the game after a short rest. Despite being banged up by the injury, Covington hit a clutch shot to cut Caravel’s lead to one possession (50-47) with less than a minute left in regulation.
Despite losing seniors Covington and Demby, Newark has a bright future in a young and talented team.
Caravel will lose four seniors, but only two starters: Niggebrugge and Hayward.
Look for both teams to make another run at a title in 2009..
Swimming: All-Henlopen Conference Teams Announced
When the All-Henlopen Conference swim teams were announced on Wednesday March 5, Seaford led all other conference schools with seven boys selected to first or second team. Andrew Halter, Drew Venables, Cory Darden and Spencer Noel were Seaford’s first team selections. Daniel DeMott, Lee Mayer and Tim Halter earned second team honors.
Caesar Rodney and Milford each had three boys swimmers selected first team, with Caesar Rodney contributing three more student-athletes to second team. First team members were: Ryan Macleish, Steven Harvell and David Clendaniel from Caesar Rodney, and Nate Parsley, Jordan Lingo and Tyler Kenton from Milford.
Both Caesar Rodney and Seaford had three girls named to the first team all conference. Abbey Moser, Laura Askin and Shan Hocombe from Caesar Rodney, and Jamie Swann, Chelsey Procino and Paige Venables from Milford were named to the first team.
Cape Henlopen accounted for six out of 14 girls' second team all conference members, with Cape swimmers Sarah May, Kerri Baily and Colleen Cannatelli named first team all conference. Bill Geppert, coach of Cape Henlopen, received both the boys' and girls' coach of the year awards.
D. Matt Dale covers Delaware for MaxPreps.com.
