Lady Wolves fall to Ursuline’s Lady Lions in 4A final

Rayne’s Lady Wolves had an answer for just about anything and anyone they faced during the 2015-16 season.
Ursuline’s Lady Lions and Kourtney Weber proved to be the exception.
Weber, a sophomore phenom, sparked a 14-0 Ursuline run in the final minutes of the fourth quarter and scored a game-high 29 points Saturday, helping the Lady Lions pull away for a 61-48 victory over Rayne in the Class 4A championship game at Southeastern University.
Weber, named the game’s Most Valuable Player, also pulled down nine rebounds, blocked one shot and had five of her team’s 11 steals
“She (Weber) played amazing,” said Ursuline coach Andrea Williams, whose team started two other sophomores, a freshman and an eighth-grader. “She just dug down deep and gave it all for her team. She got some big rebounds, a lot of and-ones and she finished them and those were some key runs and I think that really ignited the team.”
Rayne, which finished the season at 30-3, trailed by just two (45-43) entering the fourth quarter and was in need of a big spark.
Unfortunately, that spark never got ignited. Instead, No. 8-seeded Ursuline led by Weber, pulled away in the final four minutes, sealing the victory and serving notice with their youth that they will be a power for years to come.
“The girls played their heart out like they did all year,” RHS coach Chester Randell said of his team. “I can’t put into words what this team has meant to me. This group of kids, the group of parents, the community, my assistant coaches; I couldn’t ask for a better group of people to have around me.”
Both teams struggled from the floor throughout the contest. Each put up 41 shots in the first three frames with Rayne making 15 shots while Ursuline knocked down 16.
It all came down to rebounding, especially in the final period, and Ursuline won that battle by pulling down 11 boards in the final eight minutes.
“Both teams shot the ball bad, but they shot it a little bit better than us,” said Randell, whose squad shot just 33 percent on the night. “They out rebounded us (44-32) and I think that was where the game was won and lost.”
The game looked as if it would go into the final frame tied at 42-all but Weber drove the lane and hit a layup and was fouled as the buzzer went off. She sank the free throw with no time remaining and Ursuline took a 45-42 lead into the fourth quarter.
Keysuana Moore quickly tied the game at 45-all to start the final frame with a 3-pointer from the wing and after Weber hit another layup, Rayne’s junior guard dropped in another triple to put the Wolves up 48-47.
Moore’s second 3-pointer was the final bucket of the night for Rayne.
Rayne led by as many as six in the first half and went into the break with a 31-27 advantage thanks to their tenacious defense, one that forced 18 turnovers up to that point and 25 on the night.
“When we have 20 or more turnovers, we normally win by double digits,” said Randell. “That wasn’t the case tonight.”
The second half was a different story for the Lady Wolves' vaulted defense.
Ursuline was able to make adjustments during the half and only turned the ball over seven times in the final two frames.
“I told them at halftime, it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish,” said Williams. “That first half was the worse I’ve ever seen us play and we were only down by four points. I’ve always told them: ‘the only person who could beat you is yourself’ and in the first half, we were doing a great job of that.”
Although the Lady Lions made some adjustments at the break, Rayne also enabled the Lady Lions by poor shooting.
The Lady Wolves missed 24 shots in the second half, making it tougher to set up their press.
“You have to make shots to press and we weren’t making enough shots,” said Randell. “We were missing layups; so we couldn’t get in it. I mean, we were missing chip-shot layups.”
Randell said the misses weren’t particularly because of what the Lady Lions were doing.
Whatever the reason, it prevented the Lady Wolves from doing what they do best - pressuring their opponent.
“I’m not taking anything away from them,” he said. “But if you’re not scoring the ball, it’s hard to get into pressure.”
Rayne trailed by as many as five midway through the third quarter, but the Lady Wolves rallied back behind Charlesha Dugas. The senior guard picked up a steal and hit a layup before knocking down a 3-pointer to erase the deficit and tie the game at 38-all midway through the frame.
Ti’esha Young and Whitley Larry followed with back-to-back buckets to give the Lady Wolves a four-point edge before Ursuline went on a 7-0 run to end the quarter.
Kennedi Jackson’s putback with just over five minutes remaining gave the Lady Lions the lead for good at 49-48, but it was Giodin Johnson’s 3-pointer with 3:21 remaining that was the backbreaker.
“That three that Giodin hit, I think that ignited us,” said Williams. “That was a special moment. I keep saying that this is a special team and special teams make special moments.”
Giodin’s shot put Ursuline up 54-48 and it seemed to drain the life out of Rayne.
The Lady Wolves missed a pair of layups and a pair of 3-pointers and also had one turnover in the final three minutes.
Dugas and Larry, Rayne’s only two seniors, led the way offensively with 17 and 12 points respectively. Dugas also had seven rebounds, seven steals and three assists while Larry logged six rebounds and had two blocks and four steals.
“When they came into the program as freshmen, they turned it around and I am very proud of them,” said Randell of Dugas and Larry, who combined for 14 of Rayne’s 17 first-quarter points. “In their freshman year, we made it to the quarterfinals; as sophomores it was the second round; junior year it was the quarterfinals and now they’re here.
“Charlesha has over 2,000 points in four years and Whitley has 800 blocks in four years, I mean that’s phenomenal. I’m proud of all of them.”
Moore also hit double figures with 11 points. Amari Collins added six points and a team-high 10 rebounds and Young had two points.
Mitchell was the second-leading scorer for Ursuline. She also had five rebounds and three steals. Johnson added seven points while Jackson and Kiersten Nelson each had three.