Fourth-quarter tear seals 64-43 Shelby win

Daily Globe Sports Editor

ONTARIO — With a precarious four-point lead just seconds into the fourth quarter, Shelby coach Natalie Lantz had seen enough and turned the dogs loose.

The rest of the way the Whippets resembled sharks at feeding time.

SHS went on a 24-4 tear and turned a close game into a 64-43 runaway against Ontario during a Mid Ohio Athletic Conference girls basketball game.

Lantz called timeout and out the break Shelby played gritty man-to-man defense that turned the tide as the red and gray won their fourth game in a row to go to 4-1 in the MOAC and 5-3 in all outings. OHS slips to 2-2 in the league and 3-5 overall.

“We got aggressive, we were rotating and we wore them down,” said Lantz about the turnaround in the fourth quarter.

The final seven minutes of the game was all Whippets and when asked if it was the best stretch played by her team, the SHS coach said “it was up there.”

Known for her ability to slash to basket, Haylee Baker showed she can also hit from the outside. The junior drilled 22 points, including four three-pointers, and tallied 14 of her markers after halftime. She also had five steals.

“I was really pleased with Haylee. She has a nice outside shot and I’ve been telling her to take more,” said Lantz.

Haley Guisinger’s bucket eight seconds into the final frame, pulled the Warriors within four (39-35).

Then the Whippets took over.

Sophia Niese made a steal and raced to the other end for a layup, Olivia Baker drained a three before Niese answered with another layin to make it 46-35 with 6:52 remaining.

Ontario was lurking within seven (4639) at the 5:37 mark when the frenzied play of the visitors fueled a 17-0 run over the next three minutes to blow the game open. Haylee Baker, and her twin sister Olivia, combined for 12 of those points. The latter finished the night with 14.

Shelby looked ready to run away with the game in the opening stanza with a 16-4 lead, but the foul and mistake-prone visitors saw that advantage dwindle to six (39-33) by the end of the third quarter.

Leading scorers for the Warriors were Carleigh Pearson with 12 and Lizzie Nagel with 11.

Topping Shelby on the glass with six boards apiece were Niese and Olivia Baker. Sydnie Seibert dealt out five assists and Niese was next with four.

The Whippets are back in action Friday night and travel to River Valley.

SHELBY (64)

Mayer 2 3 7, H. Baker 8 2 22, Niese 4 1 9, Albert 1 1 3, S. Seibert 3 1 7, O. Baker 4 4 14, Booker 1 0 2, Totals 23 12 64.

ONTARIO (43)

Mangan 2 0 4, Nigh 1 5 7, Gusinger 1 3 5, Nagel 4 3 11, Pearson 6 0 12, Rimbert 0 2 2, Minard 1 0 2, Totals 15 13 43. Shelby ............... 18111025—64 Ontario ................ 6131410—43

Three-point field goals — H. Baker (S) 4, O. Baker (S) 2.