Marysville’s Tinley Graves (11) takes the ball away from North Union’s Kori Marvin during Monday evening’s game. Also picturd is MHS’ Haley Cook (3). The Lady Monarchs’ defense stymied NU during the non-conferene battle. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
Marysville High School girls basketball coach Brooke Young had a definite plan in mind when her team encountered North Union during a non-conference game on Monday.
“We wanted to jump North Union’s screens on the wing and pressure their guards,” she after MHS’ 60-46 victory.
Another thing the Lady Monarchs (9-10) wanted to do was take away the inside post play of North Union’s Journey Blevins.
Young knows the 5-11 junior is the type of player who can almost single-handedly control the flow of a game.
“North Union beat us in the post a little bit, but overall I thought we did a good job,” she said.
Blevins finished the contest with a game-high 16 points. She did most of her scoring damage during the second half while being saddled with three and four fouls.
It was the Lady Monarchs, who have now won five consecutive games, who did the damage during the opening period.
Marysville came out on fire as Sydney Lee and Karleigh Sutter knocked down early threes over NU’s man-to-man defense.
Tinley Graves later flashed around a screen that was set by Madison Sloan.
Graves drilled a trifecta that pushed the Lady Monarchs out to a 14-6 margin with 1:45 left in the opening set.
Leah Brown assisted on Caitlin Cotner’s bucket and Haley Cook tickled the twine on a three-ball that sent Marysville into the second quarter with a 19-6 lead.
“The girls dedicated tonight’s game to the memory of Kobe Bryant,” said Young of the retired Los Angeles Lakers superstar who perished in a helicopter crash on Sunday.
“We wanted to be ahead 24-8 (Bryant’s two jersey numbers with LA) at the end of the first quarter and we were close.”
MHS not only hit key shots from the outside, but also penetrated the paint for baskets.
As such, the Lady Cats (10-8) switched from a man-to-man to a zone to help close down those inside gaps.
Graves flipped in another trey that pushed the home team out to a 24-6 advantage early in the second stanza.
North Union had trouble handling Marysville’s defensive pressure at the other end of the floor.
“That’s been a problem for us this season,” said Lady Cat bench boss Bre Nauman.”I thought we ran the floor well and pushed the ball, but we have to learn how to finish (possessions).”
It didn’t help matters that Blevins sat the bench for much of the second quarter with a pair of fouls.
The Lady Monarchs “made hay” while the post player took a seat, climbing to a 28-12 lead on a basket by Sydney Lee.
A trifecta from Brown and a stickback by Cook allowed Marysville to climb to a 33-13 spread with less than 30 seconds remaining in the first half.
NU’s Gabby Ziegler hit a basket before time expired.
As such, the Lady Monarchs (who will host state-ranked Dublin Coffman for Homecoming on Friday) took a 33-15 lead into the turn.
Cook and Kass Lee sparked an early run that pushed MHS out to a 39-15 advantage in the third quarter.
Blevins scored in the paint, but Graves countered with another three-ball that elevated Marysville’s lead to 42-17.
The Lady Cats, in Nauman’s words “never quit” and continued to take the battle to the Lady Monarchs.
Blevins hit a basket and assisted on two shots by Ziegler as NU narrowed its gap to less than 20 at 43-26.
Sutter, however, swished a trifecta and Cotner sank a charity toss to give MHS a bit more breathing room at 47-26.
NU’s Jordyn Hoffman and Cotner swapped baskets as the Lady Monarchs took a 49-28 lead into the final quarter.
Blevins, who had to sit for a spell with four fouls, returned to action within the first 2 ½ minutes of the fourth period.
NU trailed 51-34 when she made her return. Her presence on the floor gave the Lady Cats a spark.
Blevins matched three-pointers with Graves, sank another basket and nudged the nylon with her second trifecta.
That offensive burst sliced North Union’s gap to 58-42 with less than three minutes to play.
A score on the offensive glass by Brycelyn Deickert cut two additional points off North Union’s deficit.
The teams exchanged turnovers and things got a bit nervous for Monarch Nation.
Kori Marvin scored to pull NU (which will travel to Graham on Wednesday) to within 58-46 with 1:47 on the clock.
The Lady Monarchs began making better use of the timer and forced NU to foul.
A pair of free throws by Brown stretched MHS’ lead to 60-46.
Both teams missed shots as the clock eclipsed the one-minute mark.
MHS regained control and dribbled out the timer.
Despite the loss, Nauman said NU has definite goals.
“We just want to finish our conference (Central Buckeye Conference) schedule strong,” she said.
Marysville
Graves 5-0-14, K. Lee 5-0-10 K. Lee 4-0-9, Cook 9, S. Lee 3-0-7, Sutter 2-1-7, Cotner 2-1-5, Brown 1-2-5, Hazelbaker 0-2-2, Sloan 0-1-1, Olson 0-0-0. Totals 22-7-60.
Three-point goals: Graves 4, Sutter 2, Cook 1, S. Lee 1, Brown 1.
North Union
Blevins 7-0-16, Ziegler 5-0-10, Bacon 4-1-9, Hoffman 2-0-4, Marvin 1-0-2, Deickert 1-0-2, Amstutz 1-0-2, Guy 0-1-1, Ruhl 0-0-0. Totals 21-2-46.
Three-point goals: Blevins 2.
Marysville’s jayvees improved to 18-1 with a 45-26 triumph over the Jr. Lady Cats during the preliminary game.
Ava Wilkerson led the Jr. Monarchs with 18 points and Gab Lee added 11.
Taran Moran topped NU’s reserves with 13 points.
Karleigh Sutter (left) of Marysville and NU’s Gabby Ziegler battle for possession of the ball near the baseline on Monday. MHS downed the Lady Cats, 60-46. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)