FORTVILLE — The plan was a sectional repeat.
Last season, the state-ranked Class 4A Mt. Vernon girls basketball team had sectional championship No. 16 overall on their minds — and two in a row — en route to grander heights.
Instead, the Marauders (22-2) saw their program-record 21-game winning streak end before the state tournament even truly began last February.
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Without a loss for nearly two months, the Marauders were faced with disappointment, losing to rival New Palestine, 41-32, in the opening round at the Richmond Sectional.
The sting hasn’t faded for Marauders head coach Julie Shelton or her returning players.
It’s motivating them to not only repeat as Hoosier Heritage Conference champions in 2020-21 but to make up for what they consider a lost postseason opportunity.
“It was a huge frustration, and more than a frustration, it was just a surprise. It’s kind of something that hits you in the face because you aren’t expecting it. I think that feeling of how we weren’t even kind of ready for it, they never want to feel again,” Shelton said.
The loss against the eventual sectional champion Dragons was humbling, but the Marauders won’t be much different during their redemption tour this winter.
Actually, they’ll be deeper and even more competitive.
Mt. Vernon will be without two varsity starters from 2019-20 in graduated seniors Sydnee Perry (15.0 points per game) and Tessa Freeman (4.3 ppg), so the Marauders have 462 of the team’s 1,347 points to make up.
Three returners, including senior Lexi Shelton, the 2019-20 Hancock County Player of the Year, will help along with some added athleticism.
“You always build off the prior year, and we’ve really tried to do that and continue to take the positives about having such a long winning streak and how capable we are of being good and beating good teams,” Julie Shelton said.
“But, you also take in the negative of losing in the sectional and that it doesn’t matter how many games you win in the year, if you’re not ready to go and focused at tourney time.”
The focus is a given along with team chemistry with six seniors and five juniors that have played competitively together on and off the past nine or 10 years.
Their bond played a substantial role during the team’s streak last season, and the return of a few familiar faces from the past further strengthens it.
Lexi Shelton, a University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne commit, brings 995 career points back to the court as the primary offensive catalysts for the Marauders.
In her career to date, the daughter Julie Shelton, a 2017 Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, has averaged 13.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.
Last year, she registered a career-high 16.0 ppg and 5.9 rpg with 1.3 assists and 1.5 steals per contest.
“(Lexi) is a lot more relaxed, at least, knowing that she’s going to get to play college ball and where. And, really, we’ve only had eight practices, but we have six seniors. That’s the most in 20 years that I’ve ever had,” Shelton said. “They just right now have the mindset that they all want to be good this year, and Lexi and Abby (Worley) are big pieces of that.”
Worley, a senior point guard had 108 assists in 2019-20 while averaging 7.9 points a game. Rarely the first scoring outlet, Worley kept the offense running regardless with quick decisions and outstanding court vision.
“Basketball in general, a lot of people look at points, but your point guard is absolutely huge for you, and just because she didn’t score herself, she got the ball to Sydnee and Lexi when and where they needed it and made their jobs a lot easier to make shots,” Julie Shelton said. “She was our spark plug and did so many things, and it’s huge to have her back.”
The same for senior post player Olivia Yeley, a 6-foot interior threat. Yeley averaged 8.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game with 211 points and 131 boards overall. Yeley had 15 points or more in five games and shot 40 percent from the field.
“With Olivia Yeley and Abby Worley, they should be able to (make up for the lost seniors). They just have to get into the flow of realizing they are now the second and third scorers instead of the third and fourth scorers,” Shelton said. “They’re very capable of scoring. It’s just getting that mindset.”
The Marauders intend to insert senior Riley Hasseld into the starting lineup, along with a newcomer in freshman Ellery Minch, who is being highly-touted out of junior high school.
With an offer from Cincinnati, Minch stands at 6-2 and brings length, strong shooting range and a defensive wingspan most coaches covet. The forward spent her offseason with the Nike Lady Gym Rats.
“I’m actually going to end up with more depth we’ve had in awhile, and it’s just finding a couple of kids to fill those exact roles and get comfortable in those positions,” Shelton said.
The others primed to assist in Mt. Vernon’s quest at a sectional title are former varsity contributors themselves, who decided to return to basketball.
Junior Shay Shipley, junior Maddie Swingle and senior Katie Gawrys, who is committed to Bellarmine for soccer, are coming off a sectional title run on the pitch this fall. Each played for Shelton in previous years.
“I have 11 kids that are strictly varsity, and you know me, I don’t like to sub that much, so it’s going to be hard on me, but it’s made practice fun,” Shelton said. “You put Katie, Shay, Maddie, those soccer kids, who are so athletic, against some of the others, and it makes practice tough.”
Finding time for all of her rostered upperclassmen will be just as challenging, Shelton said, but it will be worth it after a long year through the COVID-19 pandemic, which halted prep basketball back in March.
“This year, I’m just hoping to play. Most years I’m stressed about how far can we go? Can we win the conference? We better not lose to anybody. This year, I’m just thinking, please, let us play the season,” Shelton said. “I just want these kids to have a season with six seniors and five juniors. They’ve all played together since the second, third grade, and I just want them to be able to play.”
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Mt. Vernon Girls Basketball 2020-21 Schedule
DATE;OPPONENT;EASTERN TIME
Nov. 5;Franklin;7:30 p.m.
Nov. 7;Warren Central;7:30 p.m.
Nov. 12;Indianapolis Chatard;7:30 p.m.
Nov. 13;Connersville;7:30 p.m.
Nov. 20;at Rushville;7:30 p.m.
Nov. 28;East Central;7:30 p.m.
Dec. 2;at Westfield;7:30 p.m.
Dec. 5;at Pendleton Heights ©;1:30 p.m.
Dec. 8;Anderson;7:30 p.m.
Dec. 12;at Yorktown ©;12:30 p.m.
Dec. 15;New Palestine ©;7:30 p.m.
Dec. 19;at North Central (Indpls);1:30 p.m.
Dec. 29;(N) Norwell;11:00 a.m. tournament
Jan. 5;at Mooresville;7:30 p.m.
Jan. 7;at Mississinewa;7:30 p.m.
Jan. 12;Noblesville;7:30 p.m.
Jan. 16;at Shelbyville ©;2:30 p.m.
Jan. 19;at Richmond;7:30 p.m.
Jan. 22;Greenfield-Central ©;7:30 p.m.
Jan. 26;at New Castle ©;7:30 p.m.
Jan. 28;at Delta ©;7:30 p.m.
© HHC Game
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