MHS senior Caitlin Cotner contends with a Central Crossing opponent for possession of the ball Friday evening. The Lady Monarchs won, 48-32. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
A familiar face was back on the bench for the Marysville High School girls basketball team on Friday.
Head coach Brooke Young returned to the sidelines after a few games absence and guided the Lady Monarchs to a 48-32 triumph over Central Crossing.
It was the fourth consecutive victory for MHS, which raised its record to 8-10.
Defense was the name of the game for Marysville.
“We kept our bargain on the defensive side of the court,” said Young, noting the team needed that when a good number of shots failed to fall.
“We took good shots for most of the night, but struggled at times to get them to drop,” said Young.
The Lady Monarchs (who will host Union County neighbor North Union on Monday) were especially adept at hitting the floor for tie-ups and loose balls.
The alternating possession rule on those tie-ups prevented the Comets from ever establishing much in the way of a fluid offense.
The score was deadlocked at 2-2 for a few minutes of the opening period.
Crossing’s Haley Cox broke the scoring ice by converting a steal into a lay-up.
Haley Cook of MHS answered with a stickback that knotted the game at a bucket apiece.
Both teams came up with empty possessions until Sydney Lee swiped the ball and fed it to younger sister Kass for a 4-2 MHS lead.
The younger Lee scored on the offensive glass to give Marysville a 6-2 margin with 3:47 remaining in the opening set.
The Comets opened the game in a 3-2 zone in order to prevent the Lady Monarchs from driving the lane.
The visitors briefly switched to a man alignment, which afforded Karleigh Sutter the opportunity to go hard in the paint for an 8-4 lead.
Central Crossing tallied two late buckets to tie the game at 8-all by the end of the quarter.
Maggie Hazelbaker broke the tie with a basket for MHS.
Both teams had trouble putting the ball in the hoop as missed shots and turnovers resulted in empty possessions.
Free throws by Kass and Sydney Lee gave Marysville a 13-10 edge.
Cox, however, buried a long trifecta to knot the battle at 13.
There was one additional stalemate at 15 before MHS’ Leah Brown cashed in on a three-ball for an 18-15 advantage.
Tinley Graves, who had been cold from beyond the arc earlier in the evening, knocked down a trey that pushed Marysville out to a 21-16 margin.
She later hit two-of-three from the charity stripe for a 23-16 lead the Lady Monarchs carried into the halftime break.
The Comets kept it close during the early portion of the third period.
A trifecta from Sydney McCullough narrowed the visitors’ gap to 25-23.
Sutter hit a jumper right in the teeth of the Comets’ zone.
Graves later added another three-pointer as the Lady Monarchs’ margin grew to 32-26 with less than four minutes remaining in the third set.
More than two minutes elapsed before Caitlin Cotner was sent to the free throw line for MHS.
Her charity tosses expanded the home team’s lead to 34-26 by the end of the stanza.
The Lady Monarchs grabbed their first double-digit lead early in the fourth quarter.
Sydney Lee came out of a scramble with the ball and fired it to sibling Kass for a shot that pushed MHS out to a 36-26 advantage.
Graves went coast-to-coast after a steal and gave Marysville a 38-26 lead.
At that point, the Lady Monarchs were starting to feel victory in their bones.
Kass Lee drilled a trifecta and Leah Brown followed with a jumper that buried the Comets in a 44-26 deficit.
The teams traded a couple of buckets or free throws down the stretch for the Lady Monarchs’ victory.
Marysville, which has struggled from the free throw line this season, used the stripe to help seal the triumph.
The Lady Monarchs were 11-of-13 from the line.
Marysville
K. Lee 4-3-11, Graves 3-2-10, Brown 2-2-7, Hazelbaker 3-0-6, S. Lee 1-2-4, Sutter 2-0-4, Cook 2-0-4, Cotner 0-2-2, Sloan 0-0-0, Olson 0-0-0, Strahm 0-0-0. Totals 17-11-48.
Three-point goals: Graves 2, Brown 1.
Central Crossing
Cox 4-2-13, Lasko 3-1-7, McCullough 2-2-7, Washington 1-0-3, Rosado 1-0-2, Kumfer 0-0-0. Totals 11-5-32.
Three-point goals: Cox 1, McCullough 1, Washington 1.
The Lady Monarch jayvees improved to 17-1 with their 71-7 victory during the preliminary game.
Ava Wikerson led the reserves with 18 points, while Gab Lee added 13.
Lady Monarch head coach Brooke Young gives instructions during Friday’s win over Central Crossing.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)