Manual’s 1-2 punch of Krystalline McCune and Tonysha Curry proved too physical to handle for a young Sacred Heart basketball team Saturday afternoon in a battle between Seventh Region powers.
McCune, a 6-3 senior center who has signed with West Virginia, scored 19 points and nabbed 18 rebounds, and Curry, a 5-9 junior guard, added 14 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Lady Crimsons to a 69-52 victory at Sacred Heart.
Manual, ranked 12th in Kentucky by The Courier-Journal’s Litkenhous Ratings, only led 24-20 at halftime, but turned on the power in the third quarter to outscore the No. 13 Valkyries 26-10 en route to its ninth win in 13 games.
Seconds into the second half, McCune got the ball at the foul line, spun to her right and made a layup that ignited an 11-1 spurt that shot Manual ahead 35-23. Curry hit the boards hard, scoring on three putbacks during that streak.
“We had no flow in our offense in the first half,” McCune said. “Coach (Jeff Sparks) set up a play to start the third quarter. He tooled it a little bit where I would get the ball and score. This was a very important game.”
Of the 18 rebounds McCune grabbed, 14 came on the defensive board. Five of Curry’s rebounds were on the offensive board.
“Curry is such a good offensive rebounder,” Sparks said. “She plays with a mindset to go hard on the boards. She can hurt people with her strength.”
Sacred Heart coach Donna Moir noticed Manual’s size during warmups and how they applied it to start the second half.
“They got on the boards and got more physical with us, and we didn’t respond well,” Moir said.
“When McCune wants to play she’s tough to stop.”
McCune hit 8 of 15 shots and 3 of 6 free throws. Curry went 7 for 13. Manual got nine points apiece from 5-11 sophomore Aniah Griffin and 6-foot freshman Nila Blackford, and 10 points and five assists from sophomore guard Jaela Johnson.
Leading 35-25, Manual went on an 11-5 run to raise its lead to 46-30 after a three-point play by Blackford. McCune opened the fourth quarter with another strong move to the goal for a 52-32 cushion. The Lady Crimsons also led by 20 at 54-34, 56-36 and 58-38.
Three-point shots by Ashlee Harris and Natalie Fichter pulled the Valkyries within 60-45, but Sacred Heart got no closer.
Sophomore Grace Berger, who was averaging 14.6 points for Sacred Heart, made only 4 of 15 shots in a 10-point, 8-rebound effort. Sophomore Kiki Samsel led the Valkyries with 13 points, hitting 3 of 7 shots, including 3 of 4 threes. Kia Sivils, another sophomore, added 12 points and led Sacred Heart in rebounding with 10.
“Berger turned an ankle in practice Friday,” Moir said. “I’m proud of her because she really gutted it out. That really affected her jumping, but she’ll be fine.”
The win ended a two-game sweep of Seventh Region powers for the Lady Crimsons, who beat No. 6 Eastern 65-61 on Tuesday.
“It was a good week, but it’s just a week in January,” Sparks said. “We’re learning to play more together, but we have another tough week coming up. We have to get ready for Mercy on Tuesday.”
| Manual | 12 | 12 | 26 | 19 | — | 69 |
| Sacred Heart | 12 | 10 | 10 | 20 | — | 52 |
Manual (9-4) – McCune 19, Curry 14, Johnson 10, Griffin 9, Blackford 9, J. Ballard 2, A. Ballard 2, Smith 2, Howard 2.
Sacred Heart (13-4) – Samsel 13, Sivils 12, Berger 10, Harris 9, Fichter 8.
3-point goals – Samsel 3, Fichter 2, Harris.