CHAMPION CROWNED

The first champion of the day has been crowned.

Youngstown Ursuline had a tough road to the state finals. The championship game may not have started the way they wanted, but in the end, they were crowned champion.

At the start it looked as if Oak Hill would have the hot hand. Hitting 57.1% from the field in the first half. the Lady Oaks, behind the great play of Whitney Hale (22 points) and Alyssa Hammond (18 points) looked for control of the game. Ursuline, had a different plan. The Lady Irish while only hitting 40.7% in the first half, stood close enough to feel they were ready for a break out. When the buzzer sounded to end the half, the Lady Oaks were only ahead by 2, 31-29.

At the start of the second half, the roles had reversed, and the Irish were ready to show the crowd they were up to the challange. Behind the great defensive play of Tyra Grant and Cierra Bennett, the Irish put a stop to the hot Lady Oaks. At the same time, Courtney Davidson started to get warmed up. Davidson would finish with 21 points, 3 assist and play all 32 minutes.

The Lady Oaks never found their shot, and Youngstown Ursuline wins their first Girls State Basketball Championship with a 66-52 win over Oak Hill.

OPS CHAMPIONSHIP MVP

TYRA GRANT: 22 POINTS, 3 ASSIST, 2 BLOCKS, 5 STEALS

OPS CHAMPIONSHIP GAME ALL-TOURNEY TEAM

1. TYRA GRANT - URSULINE

2. COURTNEY DAVIDSON - URSULINE

3. REBECCA SLATTERY- URSULINE

4. WHITNEY HALE - OAK HILL

5. ALYSSA HAMMOND - OAK HILL