by Erin Semagin Damio
8:48
Game over. Ursuline wins, 36-57. A player from each team will receive an MVP trophy soon.
Manchester's is...Teighlor Clare-Kearney!
Ursuline's is...Elena Delle Donne!
8:47
Elena comes out with 40 seconds to play, and there's a lot of applause. Manchester's trying to get something done in the last few seconds...Ursuline trying to score one more time with their bench cleared...
8:45
I'm nominating Kayla Miller for the Mel Thomas award for diving after the ball and landing the floor more than anyone else.
And Elena has 30, with jut under a minute to go in the ballgame. Ursuline's ahead 35-55.
8:40
3:26 left in the ball game, 49-33 Ursuline.
We're in the middle of a timeout now, with Manchester trying to figure out how to outscore Ursuline by 16 in three and a half minutes, I'd imagine.
8:33
Beginning of the last quarter, and Manchester's still fighting with a full on full court press. Almost just managed a steal. Lots of hustle on both teams.
8:28
End of the third...it's 44-31 Ursuline
Ursuline led by Elena Delle Donne with 22, Shannon O'Hanlon with 10, Kayla Miller with 6, and Erin Edwards with 4. Manchester is led by Teighlor Clare-Kearney and Quortne Young with 8, and Natalie Smith with 6.
8:26
Elena just had a pretty awesome block. Ann Miller of Sportspage (sitting next to me) says it's her third, and I'll believe that, since Ann is far better at keeping stats than I am.
8:25
Manchester's still staying in the game. Under 2:00 in the quarter, 31-42 Ursuline.
8:16
Inside our first timeout in the third quarter, 6:45 to go, and it's 24-36 Ursuline. Manchester's still staying in the game with some key steals and good shots.
8:00
And it is halftime. 34-17 Ursuline, Elena with 18 points, Mancheseter led by Marci Reisman with 7 and Quortne Young with 6.
Did I mention the wonderful mascots of the teams playing tonight? We've got the Manchester Indians against the Ursuline Raiders, which doens't seem quite politically correct.
Elena's proving an ability to score from anywhere on the floor, though at this level she's also shooting over people's heads... UConn coach Geno Auriemma's here to watch his future player... and the cheerleaders are doing a halftime show...
7:50
Manchester making a run. It's 26-12 Ursuline now.
7:46
First quarter over, score 6-20 Ursuline.
Elena has ten points and Erin Edwards and Shannon O'Hanlon have four each. Kayla Miller seems to be racking up the steals too.
7:43
Dale Nosel, a notorious Uconn fan who paints himself blue and white to cheer, is here in full costume.
Score -- 4-18 Ursuline, 1:10 left in the first quarter.
7:36
With 4:10 left in the first quarter (wow quarters! It's like the WNBA again) Ursuline is ahead 13-2. Kayla Miller, Ursuline's point guard, is also showing some hustling ability -- she's signed to George Washington University for next year.
7:32
15 seconds in and Elena's scored the first layup of the game. Manchester having a hard time getting the ball in against Ursuline's defense.
7:30
Just heard the national anthem. I've got to say, I do not miss high school. No offense to these girls who are all wonderful, but I did play basketball for a year in high school and this is bringing back some memories...;)
7:15
I've just been chatting with Mike D'Avino of Sportspage Magazine. He's been here for a while taking quite a lot of pictures -- should be a big gallery up after the game.
7:00
I am not writing going to write a lot of new entries, just continue to edit this one, bringing back memories of that lovely game in Phoenix.
The Manchester team is here now. I had a moment of worry when I saw people come in Manchester jackets and wondered why the team was so short and all wearing pink bows, but those were the cheerleaders. Both teams are in the locker rooms.
6:30
My mother, a friend, and I have braved the snow and cold to come to see this high school basketball game tonight. I'm sitting in Chase Arena on the University of Hartford campus, where the gym is pretty empty and the Ursuline Academy Raiders are doing their warm up shots in front of me. The clock on my computer says it's only 6:25, but the scoreboard has just started it's 60:00 countdown clock to tip-off -- supposedly at 7:00. The foyer is already filled up with the UConn faithful, and the line is starting file in now... I'll keep some updates coming throughout.
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