Blistering first half carries SHS
Daily Globe Sports Editor
CALEDONIA — Delivering a first-half haymaker, Shelby recorded its fifth consecutive girls basketball win by knocking off Mid Ohio Athletic Conference foe River Valley 64-52 Friday night.
Behind a suffocating full-court press, the Lady Whippets were off and running early as they took over sole possession of second place in the MOAC at 4-1 and improved to 6-3 in all games.
No one could argue the opening two quarter were the best 16 minutes put together this season by the SHS girls as they stormed to a 26-9 lead after one quarter and checked in at halftime with a 48-17 advantage.
“That was probably our best first half for sure,” remarked Shelby coach Natalie Lantz. “We did a much better job defensively. We had great energy for two quarters. That was the epitome of a half. That was great.
“We moved the really well, shot the ball really well, and we were taking good shots. We had a good mix of transition buckets and were also able to knock down threes.”
The Whippets never trailed and the game was tied briefly at 2-2 just 29 seconds into the game on a hoop by the Vikings’ Samantha Osborne.
Olivia Baker’s threeball with 7:24 on the clock made it 5-2 and the visitors were ahead for good.
SHS widened the gap with 11 unanswered points over a 71-second stretch as their pressure was paying dividends as the lead swelled 24-7. Sydnie Seibert capped the run with a steal under her own basket that she laid back in.
Scoring bursts of nine and 11 points widened the advantage to 44-14. The latter run featured a pair of threes by Sophie Niese and one from Sydnie Seibert with 2:23 to go until halftime.
“Olivia (Baker) hit a couple quick ones off the bat and Sophie fired up offensively. Haylee (Baker), Syd (Seibert), they all did a nice job offensively, especially that first half,” noted Lantz.
As impressive as the first half was, things went south in the second half for the Whippets as they managed just 16 points the final 16 minutes.
“The wheels fell off the second half and it was a little ugly,” said Lantz. “We took some open shots to begin with and they didn’t fall. I also think we rushed some a little bit and we can get better looks than we did. We went a little cold.”
Niese, who was a perfect 3-of-3 from threepoint range, topped Shelby with 19 points. Haylee Baker added 15 and flirted with a triple double as she netted nine boards and nine steals. Olivia Baker finished with 12. The latter and Niese each collected five caroms.
“I saw some really good things in the first half we’ll focus on and build off of. We’re heading in the right direction. Tonight was a good effort,” said Lantz.
Hannah Logan had 26, but 18 of them came in the second half. Brooklyn Mosher added 12 for the Vikings, now 4-2 in the MOAC and 5-5 overall.
Tuesday the Whippets entertain Toledo St. Ursula Academy.
SHELBY (64)
Hipp 0 2 2, H. Baker 5 4 15, Niese 7 2 19, Albert 4 0 8, S. Seibert 2 1 6, O. Baker 5 0 12, Booker 1 0 2, Totals 24 9 65.
RIVER VALLEY (52)
Roseberry 1 0 2, Hecker 2 1 5, Mosher 3 6 12, Logan 9 8 26, Corwin 1 0 2, Snyder 1 0 3, Osborne 1 0 2, Totals 18 15 52.
Shelby ............... 262211 5—64 River Valley ........ 9 8 21 14 —52
Three-point field goals — H. Baker (S), Niese (S) 3, Seibert (S), O. Baker (S) 2, Snyder (R).