Ava Wilkerson of Marysville launches a three-point shot against Worthington Kilbourne. The Lady Monarchs won the Division I tournament game, 53-26.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
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Most high school basketball coaches would be happy with a 27-point tournament victory.
Marysville girls coach Klarke Ransome, though, was just a tad displeased after a 53-26 verdict over Worthington Kilbourne.
“We got a big lead early and then we relaxed a little bit,” he said. “We got a little sloppy and we’ve got to improve on that.”
The No. 7 seed Lady Monarchs pulled out to a 20-6 lead after the first quarter and took a 34-9 margin into the halftime break.
Marysville’s offense, though, ran into some second-half trouble against the Wolves’ 3-2 zone.
The alignment prevented Marysville from penetrating into the lane for easy buckets like it did during the first half.
Ransome knew Hilliard Bradley (the next post-season opponent) was scouting the game.
However, he wasn’t overly concerned about MHS’ struggles against the zone.
The Lady Monarchs were able to chew up a bunch of time on the clock by swinging the ball on the perimeter, instead of forcing the action inside.
The defense was also solid once again as Marysville won its 20th game in 23 outings.
It is the most victories in a single season by the Lady Monarch hoopsters in program history.
Kilbourne, the 38th seed, tied the game early at 2-2 on a basket by Camille Shiffer.
The Lady Monarchs then spent several minutes converting turnovers and steals into transition baskets.
Ava Wilkerson dropped in a pair of three-pointers during the final 25 seconds for MHS’ 20-6 advantage at the end of the opening set.
Both teams went through a spell of empty possessions once the ensuing quarter began.
Alyssa Strahm and Cam Lee, however, buried trifectas that stretched MHS’ margin to 29-6.
Strahm added another trey for Marysville’s 34-9 spread at the turn.
The Wolves realized at halftime they couldn’t keep up with Marysville’s offense while playing a man-to-man defense.
They switched to the 3-2 zone and extended it up top to put a crimp in the Lady Monarchs’ offensive flow.
Wilkerson later tossed in a three-ball for a 41-11 lead.
Kilbourne, however, took advantage of several MHS miscues.
Those ballhandling mistakes led to the Wolves’ 9-2 run to conclude the third stanza.
Marysville took a comfortable 43-20 lead into the fourth period, but still appeared to be somewhat stagnant on offense.
Wilkerson, though, came to the rescue with a pair of three-balls that elevated the Lady Monarchs’ lead to 49-24.
Grace Groves and Abri Schmutz tallied MHS’ final two points of the night.
Ransome knows his squad will face a much tougher time on Saturday.
The Lady Monarchs will host No. 19 Hilliard Bradley, 6 p.m.
“Hilliard Bradley (which beat MHS 38-33 nearly two months ago), will make us work for everything we get,” said Ransome. “They do all the little things right and we just need to be tougher with the basketball.”
The Jaguars are guided by a face that may be familiar to some Union County hoop fans.
Steve DeDent, the former boys coach at Jonathan Alder, is Bradley’s head coach.
Marysville
Wilkerson 6-0-17, Brown 5-2-12, Eberhart 2-3-7, Strahm 2-0-6, Tweed 1-1-3, C. Lee 1-0-3, Schmutz 1-0-2, Groves 1-0-2, Williams 0-1-1, Krutowskis 0-0-0, G. Lee 0-0-0. Totals 19-7-53.
Worthington Kilbourne
McGlone 5-1-11, Koppect 2-2-7, Shiffer 2-0-4, Humphrey 1-0-2, Hill 1-0-2, White 0-0-0, Sheets 0-0-0, Fuller 0-0-0. Totals 11-3-26.
Three-point goal: Koppect 1.