Leah Brown (13) goes up for a basket Friday evening against Thomas Worthington. Brown tallied a game-high 14 points during the Lady Monarchs’ 43-31 victory. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
There’s an age-old theory in sports that proclaims “good teams find ways to win, even when they don’t play well.”
That was exactly the case for the Marysville High School girls basketball team Friday evening.
The Lady Monarchs (who improved to 6-2) didn’t put their best foot forward on their home court against Thomas Worthington.
In the end, however, Leah Brown helped lead the squad to a 43-31 triumph.
“Leah basically took over the game in the fourth quarter,” said MHS coach Klarke Ransome.
Brown tallied 10 of her game-high 14 points over the final eight minutes, hitting six critical free throws in as many attempts.
Ransome wasn’t all that pleased with how his squad played during the first three quarters.
“We didn’t play tough or physical during that time,” he said.
Marysville didn’t do a good job of attacking the basket against the Cardinals’ defense.
Thomas Worthington clamped down on passing and driving lanes as MHS kept moving the ball on the perimeter.
At times, the Lady Monarchs (who will play at Hilliard Bradley on Tuesday) had good looks at the basket, but the shots would not fall.
Marysville trailed 10-9 after the opening stanza.
A stickback by MHS’ Abby Williams tied the game at 11-all within the first two minutes of the second quarter.
The Lady Monarchs pulled to a 13-13 stalemate at the 3:48 mark.
They, however, spent the rest of the period coming up with empty possessions.
A trifecta from Reese Laakso helped propel the visitors to a 20-13 halftime margin.
“We were very flat during the first half,” said Ransome.
Laakso converted a steal into a bucket that pushed Thomas Worthington out to a 22-15 advantage during the early going of the third set.
Ava Krutowskis scored on the low block and Brown went coast-to-coast for a basket that narrowed MHS’ deficit to 22-19.
A three-ball by Ladan Emi elevated the Cardinals’ lead to 25-19.
To their credit, the Lady Monarchs kept battling.
Cam Lee scored on the offensive glass with 2:39 remaining in the period.
The teams swapped possessions before Ava Wilkerson, back on the court after an injury, got a shooter’s bounce on a three-pointer.
That shot from beyond the arc sliced Marysville’s gap to 25-24 with slightly more than a minute left in the third quarter.
A basket by Kayelyn Breedlove sent the Lady Cardinals into the fourth period with a 27-24 edge.
Brown was perfect on four free throws as the Lady Monarchs gradually gained the control of the contest.
Her basket at the 5:22 mark gave MHS a 30-29 lead.
The battle was later tied at 31-31, but fans could sense which direction the game was going.
The clock read 3:03 to play when Brown made a strong drive in the lane for a shot that gave the Lady Monarchs a 33-31 edge.
Alyssa Strahm really got Monarch Nation juiced when she tickled the twine with a three-ball that expanded the lead to 36-31.
From that point on, the Lady Monarchs made some key defensive stops and scrapped for every rebound they could grab in order to keep the visitors at bay.
With time as an enemy, the Lady Cardinals were forced to foul.
Charity tosses from Schmutz, JoJo Eberhart and Brown sealed Marysville’s victory.
The triumph puts MHS at 2-0 in the Ohio Capital Conference Cardinal Division.
“This was a big conference victory,” said Ransome.
Marysville
Brown 4-6-14, Krutowskis 3-2-8, Eberhart 2-3-7, Strahm 2-0-6, Wilkerson 1-0-3, C. Lee 1-0-2, Williams 1-0-2, Schmutz 0-1-1, G. Lee 0-0-0. Totals 14-12-43.
Three-point goals: Strahm 2, Wilkerson 1.
Thomas Worthington
Emi 3-0-7, Ramos-Chears 2-2-7, Breedlove 3-0-6, Laakso 2-0-5, Garner 1-2-4, Sellers 1-0-2, Waller 0-0-0, Rick 0-0-0. Totals 12-4-31.
Three-point goals: Emi 1, Ramos-Chears 1, Laakso 1.