Marysville’s Ava Krutowskis (left) and Kass Lee (right) have their Blooom Carroll opponent bottled up near the basket Monday evening. The Lady Monarchs rolled to a 56-33 victory over the Bulldogs. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
There was one thing Klarke Ransome especially stressed last summer when he took over as Marysville High School’s girls basketball coach.
The Lady Monarchs were going to put an emphasis on defense during the 2020-21 campaign.
“The girls really bought into that message when we came in here,” said Ransome after Monday’s 56-33 victory over Bloom Carroll. “The coaching staff has been great in teaching the girls and the team has really responded.”
The Lady Monarchs put forth one of their best defensive efforts in a number of years.
Their stout man-to-man look, combined with some full-court pressure at times, bothered the Bulldogs all evening.
Marysville shut down driving and passing lanes as Bloom Carroll failed to mount much of an offensive threat.
A couple of other factors played into MHS improving its record to 2-0.
The Lady Monarchs’ shooting from beyond the arc was stellar and their willingness to share the ball was vital.
“This is an unselfish group of girls,” said Ransome. “They’re all willing to pass up a good shot for somebody else to take a great shot.”
Kass Lee and Leah Brown led the way, as both dished for several assists.
Tinley Graves lighted up the second half from downtown, swishing four trifectas en route to a game-high 16 points.
Graves was kept off the scoreboard during the opening half. She more than made up for that goose egg by repeatedly tickling the twine over the final two quarters.
The Lady Monarchs (who will play at Worthington Christian Wednesday afternoon) jumped out to an early 7-3 lead after a pair of buckets by Lee.
Alyssa Strahm knocked down one of Marysville’s 10 three-pointers, stretching MHS’ advantage to 10-5 with a little more than three minutes left in the opening quarter.
The Bulldogs tallied two late baskets and narrowed their deficit to 10-9 by the end of the stanza.
Lee again passed the ball out for Strahm’s next trifecta as the Lady Monarchs climbed to a 16-11 lead.
MHS’ defense was air-tight as Bloom Carroll was continually frustrated on offensive possessions.
McKenzie Powers, though, swished a three-ball, slicing the Dogs’ deficit to 19-14.
Both teams swapped possessions down the stretch.
As a result, MHS took its five-point lead into the halftime break.
The Lady Monarchs grabbed their first double-digit margin a couple of minutes into the third quarter.
Ava Wilkerson’s three-pointer with 5:56 to play in the set stretched MHS’ advantage to 26-16.
She followed with another trifecta, which padded Marysville’s lead at 31-18 with slightly less than four minutes to play in the stanza.
Graves later buried a three-ball for a 34-18 margin.
Bloom Carroll had a mini run of points down the stretch. The Dogs pulled to within 34-23 by the end of the quarter.
Graves nestled a trio of treys into the net during the fourth period as the Lady Monarchs coasted to victory.
Marysville
Graves 6-0-16, Wilkerson 4-0-10, Brown 2-3-9, K. Lee 4-0-8, Strahm 2-0-6, Williams 1-1-3, Eberhart 1-0-2, Krutowskis 1-0-2, C. Lee 0-0-0, Sloan 0-0-0, Schmutz 0-0-0. Totals 21-4-56.
Three-point goals: Graves 4, Wilkerson 2, Brown 2, Strahm 2.
Bloom Carroll
Pittman 4-2-13, Bryant 3-0-6, Powers 2-0-5, Shaw 1-2-4, Blankenship 1-0-3, Lang 1-0-2, Carmac 0-0-0, Wilkinson 0-0-0, Brown 0-0-0. Totals 12-4-33.
Three-point goals: Pittman 3, Powers 1, Blankenship 1.