Lady Whippets improve to 12-0 with big win over Buckeye Central
The battle of state-ranked unbeatens did not disappoint those who made their way to the Dawg House Tuesday evening to watch high-level girls basketball.
Shelby pulled away in the fourth quarter and improved to 12-0 with a 71-55 independent victory over Buckeye Central, which exits the fray with a 10-1 ledger.
Earlier in the day, the first Associated Press girls basketball poll of the 2021-22 season was released. The Lady Whippets entered at No. 7 in Division II while the Buckettes were No. 2 in Division IV.
For two and a half quarters, the contest was a back and forth affair with six lead changes and four ties.
Buckeye Central overcame an early six-point deficit in the third quarter and tied matters at 39-39 all on a basket by Emily Siesel. Their last lead followed moments later on a pair of free throws by Siesel.
By going inside, Shelby took control of the game during the closing minutes of the stanza by rattling off nine unanswered points.
Haylee Baker got things rolling with a pair of charity tosses to tie the game at 41-all. Twin sister, Olivia, followed with a successful and-one and then a rebound basket to swell the lead to 46-41. Consecutive Audi Albert buckets made it 50-41.
The Whippets led 50-43 with three quarters played.
“We did a better job of cutting and breaking to the middle. They did a good job of mixing up their defenses against us,” said red and gray coach Natalie Lantz.
The Buckettes refused to fold and early in the final eight minutes were within four (5248) following a trey by Ryley Kanzter.
SHS remained undaunted. Haylee Baker completed an old-fashioned three-point play, Demi Hipp knocked down a triple from the left wing and Shelby was in the midst of a 10-3 run and pulling away for good. Two free throws by Olivia Baker capped the run to make it 59-48 with 3 ½ minutes to go.
“If they closed the gap, we wanted to accelerate and keep our foot down. Those girls didn’t give up and we were able to get some stops and hit free throws at the end,” said Lantz.
The Whippets ended the evening with a 12-4 run for the final margin.
Haylee Baker topped SHS in the scoring column with 20 points. Also reaching double figures were Olivia Baker with 17 and Audi Albert with 16. Albert and Olivia Baker led the way on the glass with eight and six, respectively. Sophia Niese handed out seven assists and Haylee Baker dished out four.
Also having a hand in the point production for Shelby were Niese (7), Hipp (5), Mallary Gundrum (4) and Alexis Booker (2).
Emily Siesel notched 15 for Buckeye Central and was followed by Kate Siesel (12), Julia Evak (8), Kantzer (8), Sydney Wurm (5), Kennedy Deppen (4) and Paige Colleen (3).
“You have to really credit Buckeye Central,” cited Lantz. “They’re a very disciplined team, very aggressive and they’re great shooters. (Coach)
Abram Kaple does a good job with them.”
“This was a big, quality win for us. We were a little flat defensively in the first half, but we did a much better job of getting hands in their face in the second half,” continued the SHS coach.
Shelby’s next game is Friday night for a Mid Ohio Athletic Conference battle at home against Ontario.
Shelby JV’S improve to 11-0 After a close opening quarter, the Shelby junior varsity girls basketball team remained undefeated with Tuesday’s 39-21 triumph against Buckeye Central.
The 11-0 Lady Whippets led 8-7 at the first break and increased their lead to 16-9 at halftime and 28-14 after three periods.
Eve Schwemley hooped 10 points for SHS. Also scoring were Trinity Baker (8), Charlotte Niese (7), Serena Ramsey (6), Aleigha Thauvette (5), Kaylin Mahon (2) and Sophia Long (1).
Ramsey gathered eight rebounds in the win while Niese collected six. Baker swiped four steals.