Caitlin Cotner, left, of Marysville, leaps for a layup on a breakaway as Journey Blevins of North Union attempts to block the shot. The Lady Monarchs were able to hold on to a late lead to beat the Lady Cats, 47-42.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon)
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In an early season basketball battle of Union County, the Lady Monarchs of Marysville were able to notch a 47-42 win over the Lady Cats by keeping North Union at arms’ length down the stretch.
MHS head coach Brooke Young her team began to play its game.
“We are a defensively-minded team, so the message at halftime was ‘we are not playing our game,’” Young said. “So we just had to refocus on what we came here to do.
“We came to play tough defense and transition how we want to, not just dribble the ball down the court.”
Tough defense may have been what got the Lady Monarchs their eventual victory, but the Lady Cats made Marysville fight for that win.
North Union came off the tip ready to score behind the efforts of Kori Marvin. She was able to find some seams in the MHS defense to drive the paint for six points in the first quarter.
Madison Amstutz also found the hoop from beyond the arc.
NU coach Bre Nauman, who like Young is in her first season at the helm, had to make some early adjustments.
Both of her post players, Journey Blevins and Brycelyn Deickert, got into some early foul trouble and had to sit most of the first half.
Despite the setback, the Lady Cats held a 13-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Nauman said her guards played well without the help down low.
“Our guards were able to weather that storm for us,” she said. “Kori had a fantastic game driving to the hole and being a leader.
“Kennedy Ruhl stepped up and helped us weather the situation with our post.”
Marysville’s offense began to make a dent in the Wildcats’ 2-3 zone defense as Haley Cook scored four points, helping MHS pull even at 20-20 by halftime.
Despite being down early, Young said the Lady Monarchs played well from behind.
“That is what we want from all our players… to be resilient,” said Young. “No one put their head down and got negative. We just got to work.
“They knew they could do it,” she said. “They knew they didn’t put their best foot forward in the first half. I think that is when we started to play as a team.”
The Lady Monarchs’ tough defense made its presence known in the third quarter. MHS claimed down on NU and came up with seven steals.
The defensive pressure led by Marysville’s 31-27 lead by the end of the third set.
Nauman said the reason the Lady Cats lost the lead was due to their inexperience.
“I think it goes back to us being young and lacking some varsity experience,” she said. “We need to know that we need to run our offense, run some time off the clock when we have that lead and stay aggressive on offense.
“We are just not to that point of understanding what to do with the lead.”
That lack of experience, along with the Lady Monarchs’ tough defense, carried over to the final quarter.
North Union made a late push to pull within two points with 49 seconds on the clock.
When a game is tight down the stretch, the free throw line plays a big role in the outcome.
The Lady Monarchs went five-for-nine at the charity stripe to hold onto the lead and take the victory.
Young said it was a nice way to start the season.
“All and all, it was a good first showing and a good way to get started by getting a ‘W,’” she said. “However, we’ve got to get to work on some fundamental things.”
The Lady Monarchs will return to the court when they travel to Hilliard Darby on Thursday.
The Lady Cats will travel to Ridgemont on Saturday.
Marysville
Cook 5-2-12, Cotner 3-4-10, Francisco 2-2-6, S. Lee 2-0-5, Wade 1-1-3, Colopy 1-0-3, Daniel 1-0-2, Brown 1-0-2, Kinney 1-0-2, Graves 1-0-2. Totals 18-9-47.
Three-point goals: S. Lee 1, Colopy 1.
North Union
Marvin 6-8-20, Blevins 1-5-7, Amstutz 2-0-5, Bacon 2-1-5, M. Ruhl 0-3-3, Guy 0-2-2, K. Ruhl 0-0-0. Totals11-19-42.