Kass Lee (right) of Marysville goes up for a basket on Friday against Thomas Worthington. The Lady Monarchs cruised to a 54-27 triumph. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon)
There were parts of the Marysville Lady Monarchs’ basketball game that coach Klarke Ransome liked Friday evening.
“I thought our effort was really good,” he said after a 54-27 victory over Thomas Worthington. “That’s improved a lot recently and we’re diving on the floor more for the ball.
“I also thought we played hard on defense and rebounded well.”
While Marysville (13-5) put 54 points on the board, the Lady Monarch boss wasn’t overjoyed with a portion of the team’s offense.
“We shot pretty well from the perimeter (with six trifectas),” he said. “We didn’t, however, finish really well on the inside and that’s something we have to clean up.”
Ava Krutowskis gave the Lady Monarchs a 3-0 lead on an old-fashioned three-point play.
The Cardinals responded with a jumper by Josie Tinnello that cut MHS’ margin to 3-2.
Marysville put its outside shooting on display over the next several minutes.
Three-pointers by Krutowskis and Ava Wilkerson stretched the Lady Monarchs’ margin to 9-4.
A stickback by Worthington’s Jocelyn Ramos-Chears pulled the visitors to within 9-6.
Wilkerson added two more buckets and then swished a long three-pointer, a 16-6 Lady Monarch lead.
Both teams swapped possessions over the next minute.
Alyssa Strahm hit a three-ball at the first-quarter horn as MHS held a 19-6 advantage.
Madi Sloan sank a free throw for a 20-7 MHS margin a couple of minutes into the second set.
The scoreboard remained motionless for the next several minutes as neither team could get the ball to drop into the basket.
Kass Lee broke Marysville’s drought with a basket in the lane.
Krutowskis followed with a shot that stretched the Lady Monarchs’ lead to 24-7.
Tinley Graves, who is more known for her outside shooting, drove the lane for a layup.
That basket gave the Lady Monarchs a 26-7 spread as the timer neared the three-minute mark.
Krutowskis later assisted on a bucket by Lee.
Graves then knocked down a three-ball as the Lady Monarchs took a 31-13 halftime lead.
Sloan stepped up during a couple-minute stretch of the third period.
She hit a basket at the 3:59 mark that pushed MHS to a 33-15 advantage.
Sloan fed the ball for Lee’s next bucket and then put the ball in off the glass.
That stretch of time gave Marysville a 37-15 spread with 2:49 left in the stanza.
Graves sank another jumper to send the Lady Monarchs (who will host Olentangy on Monday) into the final eight minutes of action with a 39-21 lead.
Wilkerson nailed a jumper and Leah Brown threw in a long trifecta, elevating the Lady Monarchs’ upper hand to 48-23.
Lee tallied two more buckets for a 52-23 spread.
At that point, both teams began subbing players onto the floor.
Cam Lee’s jumper with 39.3 ticks on the timer put the score at 54-25.
A late basket by the Cardinals provided for MHS’ final margin of victory.
Marysville
Wilkerson 6-0-14, Krutowskis 4-1-10, K. Lee 5-0-10, Graves 3-1-7, Sloan 2-1-5, Strahm 1-0-3, Brown 1-0-3, C. Lee 1-0-2, Schmutz 0-0-0, Eberhart 0-0-0. Totals 23-3-54.
Three-point goals: Wilkerson 2, Krutowskis 1, Graves 1, Strahm 1, Brown 1.
Thomas Worthington
Quinn 5-0-10, Ramos-Chears 3-2-8, Tinnello 2-1-5, Correale 1-0-2, Garner 1-0-2, Gerber 0-0-0, Lasko 0-0-0, Boyer 0-0-0, Elmi 0-0-0, Dunbar 0-0-0, Taylor 0-0-0. Totals 12-3-27.
Marysville’s jayvees won the preliminary game, 56-32.
Abri Schmutz led the Jr. Monarchs with 17 points, while JoJo Eberhart added 10.