Moore, Shelton huge in conference victory

RUSHVILLE — Though they aren’t playing what they term “Mt. Vernon defense,” the Marauders are still winning games.

Barely.

Down three points with under a minute remaining, 3A No. 2 MV rode the playmaking of Erica Moore and sunk six of seven three throws to escape Rushville with a 68-66 victory in both teams’ Hoosier Heritage Conference opener Friday.

The Lions nearly dealt the black-and-gold its first conference setback since Nov. 20, 2009, when Rushville felled host Mt. Vernon 45-36.

“I couldn’t be more proud of everyone’s effort and concentration down the stretch. I thought we played excellent in spots,” said coach Julie Shelton, in her 15th season at Mt. Vernon. “But we did not play defense like I expect a Mt. Vernon team to play defense.”

With 23.7 seconds left in the fourth quarter the Marauders trailed 63-60.  Erica Moore rebounded Rachel Houck’s missed three, and scored while being fouled. Moore finished off the old-fashioned three-point play to tie the game.

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