MV looking for record fourth straight title

By Brian Harmon and Grant Freking
First Posted: December 29, 2012 - 3:55 pm
Last Updated: December 29, 2012 - 10:16 pm

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GREENFIELD — The Mt. Vernon girls basketball team became the first program in the nearly 100-year history of the Hancock County Tournament to win four straight championships Saturday.

The Marauders broke open a 7-7 tie with a 41-7 blitz to end the first half on the way to a 71-43 win over Eastern Hancock in the title game. Earlier in the day, MV defeated New Palestine 65-25 in the semifinals.

In the championship, it was a freshman who helped the Marauders earn their record-setting fourth consecutive county trophy. Sydney Shelton scored a career-high 27 points — entirely in the first three quarters as head coach Julie Shelton rested most of her starters late in the blowout. Rachel Houck, who has been part of all four county championships, added 17 points. Junior Erica Moore had 14 points for MV in limited duty.

The Hancock County boys tourney began in 1920 and was discontinued following the 1967 season. It began again with the 2003-04 campaign, as did a girls county tourney for the first time. Over those years, only the Fortville boys (1938-40) and Greenfield-Central girls (2006-08) managed to win three straight titles.

Kiersten Schrope (14 points) led the Royals, who defeated Greenfield-Central 59-50 in the semifinals to advance to their first championship game since 2004. G-C triumphed over New Palestine 55-37 in the consolation.

GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIP

Mt. Vernon 71, Eastern Hancock 43

EH — Schrope 5-11 2-4 14, Dickey 0-0 0-2 0, Eischen 3-7 2-4 9, Eastes 2-3 0-1 4, Best 1-7 4-4 6, Harmon 3-5 0-0 7, Marshall 0-1 1-4 1, Neisler 0-1 0-2 0, Mourey 0-0 0-0 0, Spaulding 0-0 0-0 0, Mench 0-0 0-0 0, Lee 0-0 2-2 2. Totals — 14-35 11-23 43.

MV — Shelton 10-16 6-9 27, Duff 3-5 1-2 7, Stricker 0-1 0-0 0, Walrod 1-2 0-0 2, Shockley 1-2 0-0 2, Houck 6-14 3-4 17, Moore 7-14 0-0 14, Sandefur 1-3 0-0 2, Baugh 0-0 0-0 0, Riggs 0-1 0-0 0, Grubb 0-1 0-0 0. Totals — 29-59 10-15 71.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

EH (10-4) 9 5 14 15 — 43

MV (10-2) 19 29 17 6 — 71

Three-pt. field goals: EH 4-9 (Schrope 2-2, Eischen 1-2, Best 0-3, Harmon 1-2), MV 3-10 (Shelton 1-3, Duff 0-1, Houck 2-6).

Rebounds: EH 22 (Schrope 3, Eischen 3, Eastes 5, Best 2, Harmon 3, Marshall 1, Neisler 4, Mourey 1, Mench 1), MV 26 (Shelton 6, Duff 3, Stricker 1, Walrod 2, Shockley 7, Houck 4, Baugh 3). Assists: EH 6 (Schrope 5, Eischen 1), MV 13 (Shelton 3, Duff 1, Shockley 2, Houck 3, Moore 3, Baugh 1). Steals: EH 7 (Schrope 1, Best 2, Harmon 2, Marshall 2), MV 10 (Shelton 5, Houck 3, Moore 1, Baugh 1).Blocks: EH 1 (Eastes 1), MV 2 (Shelton 1, Moore 1). Total fouls: EH 11, MV 19. Fouled out: None. Turnovers: EH 23, MV 10.

***

GIRLS CONSOLATION

Greenfield-Central 55, New Palestine 37

NP — Stratman 14, Kehrt 10, Lorsung 5, Laughlin 4, Keele 4.

GC — Girolami 19, Koers 13, Lewis 8, Davis 7, Oldham 6, Tietjen 1, Conley 1.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

NP (2-11) 8 10 9 10 — 37

GC (4-8) 12 9 19 15 — 55

***

GIRLS SEMIFINALS

Mt. Vernon 65, New Palestine 25

FORTVILLE — Mt. Vernon rode the versatility of Sydney Shelton to a big first quarter advantage and never looked back, topping New Palestine 65-25 in the semifinals of the girls Hancock County tournament Saturday morning.

Mt. Vernon (9-2) moves on to Saturday night's championship game against Eastern Hancock (10-3), looking to clinch its fourth straight county crown. No program — boys or girls — has ever won four consecutive county championships since the competition began in 1920. Tip is set for 6 p.m. at Greenfield-Central.

The Royals are making their second title game appearance after defeating G-C 59-50.

The Marauders, who beat NP 67-30 on Dec. 13, limited the Dragons to one made field goal in the first quarter and ended the frame leading 21-4. Shelton notched seven points, two assists and all four of her steals in the opening eight minutes as MV’s 1-2-2 half-court zone helped turn NP over seven times. Shelton finished with 15 points and five assists.

In the second quarter, MV center Erica Moore asserted herself. Moore, the top scorer in the county at 19.3 points per game, notched eight of her game-high 19 points in the stanza.

The Marauders also shared the ball well in the second frame, tallying seven assists on nine made field goals. The hosts led 42-12 at the half.

Mt. Vernon took a 58-18 lead into the fourth quarter before inserting its junior varsity players into the game.

New Palestine (2-10) was paced by Haley Stratman’s nine points and eight rebounds. The Dragons were playing their third game in a 24-hour span following losses to Franklin and Indian Creek Friday in Franklin’s holiday tournament.

NP coach Jacki Negri thought her team defended the Marauders well in the half court, but conceded that her squad’s 27 turnovers provided MV with too many easy scoring opportunities.

“Transition buckets killed us. That’s part of the learning curve. We’re learning and growing,” Negri said her team, which played four freshman and four sophomores. “We’ll go look at the film from today and compare it to the one from two weeks ago (against MV) and I’m sure we’ll find things we did better.

“We’ll learn from what we did today and carry it over to the next game.”

New Palestine faces Greenfield-Central (3-8) in tonight’s consolation match. The Cougars bested the visiting Dragons 45-27 on Dec. 7.

“In the first game, we did not have a good first quarter. They pressed us and we gave it right to them,” said Negri of the team’s first matchup, which saw NP fall behind 18-3 after a quarter. “We calmed down and then it was a game. Take away that first quarter, and it’s a game.”

Notes: NP’s Carly Hackler sat out with a knee injury. Negri said Hackler will not play versus G-C and is scheduled to see the doctor Monday. … Rachel Houck added 10 points, four assists and four steals for MV.

VARSITY

Mt. Vernon 65, New Palestine 25

NP — Stratman 3-8 2-2 9, Laughlin 0-4 2-4 2, Nitschke 0-1 0-0 0, Kehrt 2-7 2-2 6, Lorsung 2-5 2-2 6, Kost 0-6 0-0 0, Keele 0-4 2-4 2, Walke 0-0 0-0 0. Totals — 7-35 10-14 25.

MV — Moore 8-14 3-5 19, Shelton 5-9 4-6 15, Houck 4-7 0-0 10, Shockley 3-5 0-0 6, Duff 3-7 0-0 7, Walrod 0-1 1-2 1, Riggs 0-0 0-0 0, Grubb 0-0 0-0 0, Baugh 2-2 0-1 4, Stricker 0-1 0-0 0, Sandefur 1-3 0-0 3. Totals 26-49 8-14 65.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

NP (2-10) 4 8 6 7 — 25

MV (9-2) 21 21 16 7 — 65

Three-pt. field goals: NP 1-5 (Stratman 1-4, Kehrt 0-1), MV 5-14 (Shelton 1-3, Houck 2-4, Duff 1-5, Sandefur 1-2).

Rebounds: NP 17 (Stratman 8, Nitschke 2, Kehrt 2, Lorsung 3, Kost 2), MV 25 (Moore 7, Houck 1, Shockley 4, Duff 2, Walrod 3, Grubb 2, Baugh 1, Stricker 3, Sandefur 2). Assists: NP 3 (Kehrt 1, Lorsung 1, Walke 1), MV 15 (Shelton 5, Houck 4, Shockley 3, Duff 1, Grubb 2). Steals: NP 7 (Stratman 1, Laughlin 1, Nitschke 2, Kehrt 1, Kost 1, Keele 1), MV 18 (Moore 5, Shelton 4, Houck 4, Shockley 2, Walrod 1, Baugh 1, Stricker 1). Blocks: NP 0, MV 0. Total fouls: NP 12, MV 13. Fouled out: None. Turnovers: NP 27, MV 11.

***

Eastern Hancock 59, Greenfield-Central 50

CHARLOTESVILLE — Eastern Hancock dominated the third quarter and secured its second-ever victory in the Hancock County Tournament, 59-50 over Greenfield-Central Saturday in the morning semifinal.

The small-school Royals were just 1-17 in the four-team tourney since it began in 2003, but this year’s Royals — now at 10-3 — are proving to be the best EH team of the last decade.

They showed it again Saturday, outscoring the 4A Cougars 20-7 in the third quarter to erase G-C’s 22-21 halftime lead and win going away.

EH advanced to face 3A No. 7 Mt. Vernon in the championship Saturday at 6 p.m. at Greenfield-Central.

The Cougars — who, perhaps not coincidentally, are off to their worst start in over 10 years — had no answer for EH junior forward Kristin Eischen in the third quarter. Eischen sank 5-of-7 field goal attempts and 3-of-3 free throw attempts during her 13-point, eight-minute blitz.

Eischen’s basket with four minutes remaining in the third quarter was the start of a 13-0 spurt that left EH in front 38-26 near the end of the quarter, and the Cougars didn’t get closer than six points the rest of the way.

Eischen finished with 21 points and seven rebounds. Kiersten Schrope notched 16 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and seven steals. Hannah Best added nine points.

Shelby Oldham (12 points) and Brooke Bell (11 points) paced the Cougars (3-8), who went on to face New Palestine (2-10) in the consolation.

Eastern Hancock has never won a girls county crown. In their lone championship-game appearance in 2004, the Royals fell to Mt. Vernon 42-35.

Eastern Hancock 59, Greenfield-Central 50

GC — Oldham 4-8 2-2 12, Lewis 3-5 0-0 6, Davis 2-7 0-0 4, Tietjen 1-2 2-2 5, Bell 3-10 2-2 11, Koers 2-7 0-2 4, Girolami 1-7 6-10 8, Conley 0-0 0-0 0. Totals — 16-46 12-18 44.

EH — Schrope 6-16 4-6 16, Dickey 0-0 1-2 1, Eischen 7-13 8-9 22, Eastes 1-1 1-2 3, Best 1-5 6-6 9, Harmon 0-2 1-2 1, Marshall 0-0 1-2 1, Neisler 3-5 0-0 6, Mourey 0-0 0-0 0. Totals — 18-42 22-29 59.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

GC (3-8) 14 8 7 21 — 50

EH (10-3) 9 12 20 18 — 59

Three-pt. field goals: GC 6-16 (Oldham 2-4, Tietjen 1-1, Bell 3-8, Koers 0-3), EH 1-2 (Best 1-2).

Rebounds: GC 24 (Oldham 2, Lewis 10, Davis 5, Koers 3, Girolami 4), EH 27 (Schrope 10, Dickey 1, Eischen 7, Eastes 4, Harmon 1, Marshall 1, Neisler 2, Mourey 1). Assists: GC 2 (Oldham 1, Koers 1), EH 8 (Schrope 6, Dickey 1, Eischen 1). Steals: GC 9 (Oldham 2, Davis 2, Koers 3, Girolami 2), EH 11 (Schrope 7, Dickey 1, Best 2, Marshall 1). Blocks: GC 2 (Lewis 1, Koers 1), EH 3 (Harmon 1, Eastes 2. Total fouls: GC 21, EH 19. Fouled out: Lewis (GC). Turnovers: GC 21, EH 20.