KARR 57, URSULINE 47
at Karr, Friday (Jan. 24), Non-District
Records: Ursuline, 11-11; Karr, 21-4
HOW THE GAME WAS WON: 3 KEY MOMENTS
- They key stretch in Friday’s contest that essentially decided the game came just after halftime with the two teams tied at 23. Karr opened the third on a 12-2 run over the first 3:37 of the quarter that ended with back-to-back 3-pointers by sophomore guard Tia Shelling. Junior Demi Howard and senior Tatyana Barber had the first two buckets of the run before Taliyah Ruffin added a pair of free throws. The 10-point advantage during the run ended up being the Cougars’ eventual margin of victory.
- Karr took its largest lead of the game, 48-33, with 5:52 left in the fourth quarter after a short jumper by Demi Howard. Ursuline kept battling hoping to get itself back in the game, but only managed to cut the lead to eight on two different occasions. Catherine Legendre found sophomore Nicole Elizabeth Young under the basket for a layup pulling the Lions within, 55-47, with 36.6 seconds left in the game.
- Ursuline actually held the largest lead of the first half when a triple by sophomore Catherine Legendre put them ahead 13-8 with with 2:13 to go in the opening quarter. It was a back-and-forth first half, though, with Karr pushing ahead 21-17 with 3:09 left before halftime on a drive to the rack by senior Taliyah Ruffin. Ursuline responded with five straight points before the two teams eventually went into the break tied at 23.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Demi Howard, Karr
While there were several players that made key contributions for Karr, Howard seemed to have the most impact plays. The junior point guard led the Cougars in scoring with 16 points and also came up with five rebounds and three steals. She also did her best work in the second half as Karr began to pull away scoring five points in the third quarter and seven in the fourth.
NOTABLE
- In addition to Demi Howard’s performance, Karr also got big games from guard Tia Shelling and forward Tatyana Barber. Shelling was second on the team in scoring with 13 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals while Barber had 12 points including a 6-for-7 outing from the free throw line with 8 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists and 2 blocks. Sophomore guard Tyrione Sparks also chipped in with five points while leading the team in rebounding with 10 boards.
- Ursuline’s Kiersten “Tootie” Nelson stuffed the stat sheet once again putting up a game-high 22 points with 11 rebounds and six steals. The 6-foot forward previously reported offers from Nicholls, Northwestern State, UNO and Loyola but has not committed to a school just yet.
- Karr extended its win streak to five with Friday’s win and they’ve also won six of their last seven and nine of their last 11 games. The Cougars were the 5th-ranked team in the LHSAA’s latest Class 4A power rankings released Tuesday morning. Karr has since picked up wins over Mt. Carmel and now Ursuline.
- Ursuline’s five-game win streak was snapped with Friday’s defeat. The Lions had also won seven of their last eight including notable wins over Donaldsonville (42-38), Landry-Walker (45-37), Natchitoches Central (55-49) and Chalmette (47-44). Ursuline was also ninth in Division II in the latest LHSAA power rankings released on Tuesday.
- Ursuline’s hot streak has essentially lined up with the return of junior point guard Tyrielle Williams. She played her first full game against St. Louis on December 28 following a knee injury, and the Lions were 6-1 with her in the lineup before Friday night.
- Both Karr and Ursuline are very young teams. The Cougars’ top three scorers on the season are sophomore Tia Shelling (11.0 ppg), junior Demi Howard (8.2 ppg) and sophomore Tatyana Barber (7.7 ppg). Ursuline senior Kiersten Nelson and junior Tyrielle Williams are the Lions’ top two players, but the rest of the roster includes one other senior and junior while the rest are sophomores and freshman with one 8th-grader.
QUOTES
Karr coach Lester Washington: “We (used our press defense) a lot, but I told them the only way we’ll get back in the game is by not missing so many layups. Layups kill us every game and we’ve just got to get more mature…the other day we had a tough one against Mt. Carmel and we came back today flat. The first half we were going through the motions and sleepwalking out there.
The thing is, they work really hard at practice. They don’t give up and I don’t give them the excuse of being young because they’ve been with me for a year already.
Ursuline coach Kris Goff: “We have three upperclassmen and we’re still trying to learn how to (stem those runs like the one to start the third quarter). But like I told them, this is an opportunity (to compete against a good team).
They were 20-4, coach (Washington) has done a really good job turning the program around so fast and they’re so young. We loved coming out here into this environment and we circled this one. We knew it was a great opportunity, came out and competed, and we missed a lot of shots but I’m proud of the girls and the way they played.”
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Ursuline | 13 | 10 (23) | 10 (33) | 14 – 47
Karr | 12 | 11 (23) | 18 (41) | 16 – 57
INDIVIDUAL SCORING
Ursuline: Kiersten Nelson, 22; Tyrielle Williams, 9; Nicole Elizabeth Young, 9; Catherine Legendre, 3; Leah Hines, 2; Briana Williams, 2.
Karr: Demi Howard, 16; Tia Shelling, 13; Tatyana Barber, 12; Taliyah Ruffin, 8; Tyrione Sparks, 5; Yanila Morales, 3.
Up Next: Karr will be back in action on Monday at home against NOMMA at 5 p.m. for what will be its first District 10-4A game of the season. Ursuline will take the court again Tuesday at home against Kenner Discovery at 5:30 p.m. in a District 11-3A contest.
*****************
Josh Preston is the VSN Louisiana Catholic League/NOLA Executive Director and can be reached at josh@varsitysportsnow.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/JPrestonSports.