Arrows locate winning ways

Ursuline College coach Shannon Sword wanted two things out of the Nov. 20 game home game against Mercyhurst at Seidman Gymnasium.

She wanted her players to enjoy Thanksgiving with the taste of a first victory in their mouths after opening the 2018-19 season with three losses to quality Division II teams.

And she wanted those players to experience validation for all the hard work they’ve put into remaking this program with an essentially new cast of characters.

Sword got both in the 76-73 overtime victory over the Lakers.

Junior forward Julia Cardwell finished with a game- and career-high 25 points for the Arrows.

The 6-foot Indiana native averaged only 9.6 minutes of playing time last year on a team that revolved around talented senior forwards Laney Lewis, the program’s alltime leading scorer, and Camryn Hill.

Between them, Lewis and Hill averaged 35.8 points and 18.2 rebounds.

Now, Cardwell is making the most of her opportunity to be a go-to scorer. She scored 22 of her 25 points in the second half. The Arrows needed all that production as the Lakers (1-4) erased an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter to force overtime.

In overtime, Cardwell scored her team’s final seven points on a midrange jumper, two free throws and a 3-pointer.

“That was a dogfight,” Sword said. “The way we played (in overtime) spoke volumes about the way these players have come in and worked every day.”

Freshman guard Bekah Green added 14 points. Senior guard Paige Salisbury and junior guard Ky Crevison each finished with eight points and five rebounds.

Freshman guards Emily Poling, Jennah Taylor and Kaylin Burdick combined for 20 points. Each made baskets and defensive plays that contributed to the win.

“We know we have a lot of pieces and can always have five aggressive players on the floor,” Sword said. “The chemistry gets better every day.”

This team follows in the footsteps of Ursuline squads that in the three previous seasons was 6725 and made two NCAA Division II women’s tournament appearances.

Mercyhurst sophomore forward Emily Shopene had 21 points and a game-high 14 rebounds for the Lakers.