Haley Cook (3) of Marysville leaps for a one-handed shot during a tournament game against Hilliard Bradley on Friday. Cook tallied eight points in the 36-32 loss that ended the Lady Monarchs’ season. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon)
The Marysville girls basketball team saw its 2019-2020 season come to a close Friday night against Hilliard Bradley after the Lady Jaguars handed the Lady Monarchs a 36-32 loss.
The Lady Monarchs went into the sectional final contest a severe underdog, seeded 29th against the 10th seeded Jaguars.
The first quarter showed the spread in tournament seeding as the Jaguar defense kept MHS off the scoreboard.
Marysville only took four shots from the field and went 0-2 from the line.
Lady Monarch head coach Brooke Young said the pressure of the game got to the team.
“I think we struggled with them knowing our plays, but that is (Hilliard Bradley) doing their job,” she said. “Not being able to put (the ball) in the hoop, they just shut us down in the first half and really hurt us.”
The Lady Jaguars took a 9-0 lead by the end of the first quarter.
Kass Lee put put MHS on the board with a free throw.
The point gave the Lady Monarchs the lift they need as they started to find buckets from all over the floor.
MHS went on a 6-2 run to erase the nine-point deficit to five.
Tinley Graves and Karleigh Sutter each drained a trey while Caitlin Cotner and Lee also found the bottom of the net.
The Lady Jaguars responded with some buckets late in the quarter to match the Lady Monarchs’ 11 points.
Bradley held a 20-11 lead at the half.
Marysville continued its offensive push after the turn.
Leah Brown buried a trifecta, while Cotner and Lee made some headway to get to the line.
Cotner drained her two attempts, while Lee went one-for-three to help the Lady Monarchs add 10 points to their total.
Bradley’s Clhoe Callahan, who scored 18 points, notched seven as the Jags held a 30-21 lead going into the final eight minutes.
Young said she was proud of her girls for sticking with the Jaguars after the early setback.
“They fought back,” she said. “They could of hung their heads and walked around out there, but they clawed their way back into it.”
Marysville started to put the squeeze on the persistent nine-point gap when Haley Cook started scoring down low.
MHS switch to a pressing defense that forced some bad match-ups that turned into Jag turnovers.
Marysville whittled the gap to four points with les than two minutes left on the clock.
Young said her team is full of good shooters who were running out of time to find the perfect offerings.
“I think it just became desperation,” she said. “I think they were reluctant in the first half and in the second half, they started to feel the pressure.
“They didn’t have the luxury of waiting for the right shot,” said Young. “They started throwing them up and we are good shooters.”
MHS’ tough defense forced a Bradley turnover with 26 seconds left on the clock. Young called for a timeout to set up a play that cut Bradley’s lead to two points.
On the inbound, Lee took the ball in the wing and floated a pass to Cook, who was all alone on the backside of the glass for an easy lay-up.
“We have not run that play,” Young said. “We had it in our back pocket and that was the moment we needed the points. The play was called in the huddle and they executed beautifully.”
Bradley, inbounding the ball with only seconds on the clock, forced Marysville to foul.
The Jaguars were able to hold on to their lead down the stretch.
Young said the first quarter woes are what really hurt her team in the long run.
“(If) we put up four or five points in the first quarter, we are not sitting in the same situation,” she said.
Regardless, she was happy with Marysville’s season as it ended it with an 11-12 record.
“My focus was to turn the program around and it doesn’t happen in one or two years,” Young said. “I’m just proud that they came back in this game. They didn’t give up and I think that is what it means to be a Lady Monarch basketball player.”
Hilliard Bradley
Callahan 6-5-18, Chapman 2-4-8, Marschhausen 2-0-5, Parsell 1-0-3, Dennison 1-0-2. Totals 12-9-36.
Three-point goals: Callahan 1, Marschhausen 1, Parsell 1.
Marysville
Cook 4-0-8, K. Lee 3-1-8, Cotner 1-2-4, Brown 1-0-3, S. Lee 1-1-3, Graves 1-0-3, Sutter 1-0-3. Totals 12-4-32.
Three-point goals: K. Lee 1, Brown 1, Graves 1, Sutter 1
Caitlin Cotner (13) of Marysville leaps through a Hilliard Bradley defender during a tournament game Friday that the Lady Monarchs lost 36-32. Cotner tallied four points. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon)
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