Box Score By Jared Walsh, Walsh Sports Information Intern
NORTH CANTON, Ohio - What started out as a close game turned into a 30 point victory for the Cavaliers at Alumni Arena. The Walsh Cavaliers women's basketball team defeated the Ursuline Arrows on Thursday (Jan. 21) night. After an 11 day layoff due to game postponements, the Cavaliers returned to the court, beating Ursuline 89-59 and improved their record to 5-3 on the season.
- Score: Walsh 89, Ursuline 59
- Location: North Canton, Ohio (Alumni Arena)
- Records: Walsh 5-3 (5-3), Ursuline 6-5 (6-5)
The short story: Walsh found a spark early as they took a 28-11 lead at the end of the first quarter. A 10-0 run by the Arrows over the final five minutes of the first half closed the gap to seven at the intermission as Walsh led 39-32. After the half, the Cavs were unstoppable in the third. Walsh outscored Ursuline 26-8 in the third period as the Cavs led 65-40 after three periods. Lexie Scarton nailed a half-court buzzer-beater to end the third quarter. The game went back and forth in the fourth quarter with the game result locked up as the final score was 89-59.
OPENING TIP
- Mayci Sales was one of four Cavaliers in double figures. Sales started early with 12 points on six-of-seven shots at the end of the first quarter. Sales finished with a game high 26 points on 11-of-18 shooting. She also brought down nine rebounds, dished out a career-high seven assists, and had two steals.
- Megan Ball finished the game with a double-double. She scored 17 points shooting six-for-ten and two-of-three from the three point line. Ball also brought down a game-high and career-best 11 rebounds.
- Lexie Scarton and Sha Carter each finished with 15 points. Scarton also had seven rebounds and four assists. Carter had a game high four steals and she grabbed six rebounds on defense.
THE DIFFERENCE
- Walsh dominated in the paint with a season-best mark down low. The Cavaliers outscored Ursuline 52-30 in the paint while outshooting the Arrows in the paint 57%-39%.
- Walsh outrebounded Ursuline 46-33, including 15 offensive boards for both teams. Ball led the way with 11 total while four of the five starters had six or more rebounds each.
- Walsh shot 63.2% (12-19) in the opening quarter and held Ursuline to 22.2% (4-18) shooting in the third quarter with allowing only eight points.
BEHIND THE NUMBERS
- Walsh finished the game shooting a season-high 53% while holding Ursuline to 34.3% overall. The Cavs also finished shooting better than Ursuline at the three point line. Overall, Walsh shot 7-18 (38.9%) and Ursuline shot 6-26 (23.1%).
- The Cavaliers starting five scored all but eight points. Abby Hickey was the only starter that did not finish in double figures as she finished with eight points. Sales had 26 points, Ball had 17, Scarton and Carter had 15. The starters shot 32-of-55 (58%) fior the night.
- Walsh also had 17 assists on the night compared to Ursuline only finishing with six.
NOTABLE
- Mayci Sales' 26 point night puts her tied at eighth place with Brittany Harmon at 1,292 points on Walsh's all time scoring list.
- Sha Carter is only five points away of taking over the 14th spot on Walsh's all time scoring list (1,227).
NEXT UP
- Walsh hosts the Ohio Valley Fighting Scots on Saturday (Jan. 23) at 1:00PM in a Great Midwest doubleheader.
-WC-
