In this file photo Cassie Fransico of Marysville High School drive to the basket during a game against Dublin Coffman. Fransico scored a team-high 10 points during the Lady Monarchs 61-44 loss to Big Walnut Tuesday.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon)
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One of the most basic fundamentals in basketball is that you have to take care of that pumpkin.
You have to treat it as though it was the Hope Diamond, or at the very least, a piece of solid gold.
The Marysville Lady Monarchs did not follow that roundball tenet Tuesday evening and as a result, dropped a 61-44 verdict to Big Walnut.
“We had such a good first half and I don’t know what happened after that,” said MHS coach Mindy Eisnaugle as her squad slipped to 9-13 for the season.
“Our game plan was to come out strong offensively and take care of the basketball,” she said. “We didn’t do it and I think we broke down mentally.”
The Lady Monarchs were in the ball game for the entire first half.
They had the lead a handful of times and stayed within striking distance of the Eagles on other possessions.
Big Walnut held a 10-9 edge at the end of the first period and jumped out to a 14-11 lead on a stickback from Katie Cochran and a bucket from Avery Schone after an MHS turnover.
Haley Cook drilled a three-pointer that tied the game at 14 for Marysville with a little more than five minutes left in the opening half.
The Lady Monarchs took the lead on a pair of free throws by Allie Rioch.
Kinzi Lee hit a basket and Sarah O’Neil scored after going around a screen from Rioch.
O’Neil then scored once again to push MHS out to a 22-18 lead.
The Eagles rallied on a basket from Cochrane and a pair of free throws by Schone for a 23-22 edge.
Cook went to the basket along the baseline, but a traditional three-point play from Cochran sent the visitors into the turn with a 26-24 lead.
The game started to go south of the border for Marysville during the third quarter.
Erin Boehm swished a long three-pointer for Big Walnut and the turnovers began to pile up for the Lady Monarchs.
An MHS miscue led to Cochran’s basket that pushed the Eagles out to a 35-26 margin with 4:13 remaining in the quarter.
Big Walnut later took its first double-digit lead of 38-28 on another three-ball from Boehm.
Cassie Francisco and Caitlyn Cotner put free throws in the book for Marysville.
That, however, was an indication of another second-half problem.
While the Eagles were hitting baskets – several of which were lay-ups – MHS was forced to settle for free throws here and there.
A basket from Abby Facemyer sent BW into the fourth quarter with a 45-31 advantage.
A good portion of Marysville’s points over the final eight minutes came from the charity stripe.
A jumper from Boehm gave the Eagles a 20-point spread of 59-39 in the game’s waning minutes.
Marysville’s scoring ended on free throws by Lee and Kennedy Welsh and a jumper from Karleigh Sutter.
Eisnaugle was not sure how many turnovers her team committed during the course of the game.
“We had to have twice as many in the second half as we did during the first half,” she said.
“It’s killing us not to have a point guard out there (after an earlier season-ending injury to Sydney Lee),” said Eisnaugle.
“We didn’t have anybody step up and take control on Senior Night,” she said. “It’s getting late in the season for that not to happen.”
The Lady Monarchs will conclude the regular season on Friday by hosting Upper Arlington on Hall of Fame night.
Big Walnut
Cochran 6-4-16, Boehm 4-3-13, Av. Schone 4-4-12, Facemyer 5-0-10, Walters 3-0-6, Neff 1-0-2, Al. Schone 1-0-2, Carter 0-0-0, Stooksbury 0-0-0, Tarney 0-0-0. Totals 24-11-61.
Three-point goals: Boehm 2.
Marysville
Francisco 3-4-10, Cook 2-5-10, O’Neil 3-0-6, Lee 1-3-5, Rioch 0-4-4, Sutter 1-0-2, Hazelbaker 1-0-2, Graves 0-2-2, Welsh 0-2-2, Cotner 0-1-1, Daniels 0-0-0. Totals 11-21-44.
Three-point goal: Cook 1.
MHS’ jayvees improved to 11-10 with a 36-33 victory during the preliminary game.
Paige Trent led the junior Monarchs with 13 points.