FORTVILLE — The Mt. Vernon offense had stalled.
After the Marauders took a 27-13 lead two minutes into the second quarter, they looked like they would cruise into Friday’s girls basketball sectional semifinal with a big win.
It wasn’t that easy.
The hosts didn’t score again for almost 11 minutes, and the Connersville Spartans went on a 12-0 run that lasted until only three minutes remained in the third quarter, trimming the deficit to two.
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That’s when Mt. Vernon launched a 3-point barrage. Back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers from Olivia Yeley, Sydnee Perry and Abby Worley got the Marauders offense going again, and the hosts were back in business.
The 3-pointers didn’t stop, and the Marauders closed the game on a 34-3 run, advancing to a Friday night semifinal against Pendleton Heights with a 61-28 win Tuesday night at home.
“I thought we had a great start, then we got into some foul trouble where two or three kids had two fouls, and I pulled the press off and then we got kind of stagnant,” Mt. Vernon coach Julie Shelton said. “Once the press was pulled off, we just kind of thought nobody could foul and slowed down totally on defense, which isn’t good for us offensively either.”
Everything changed with Yeley’s 3-pointer over halfway through the third quarter. That was the spark the offense needed, and suddenly the Marauders were almost unable to miss.
“Oh, it felt great. We’ve been struggling a little bit lately, just getting our momentum and getting confidence,” Mt. Vernon sophomore Lexi Shelton said. “Once Olivia hit that 3, everything just kind of got rolling and everybody’s kept falling. It was a great feeling.”
Lexi Shelton led the Marauders with 25 points and had six rebounds and a pair of steals. Perry added 17 points on five made 3-pointers and added eight rebounds and three steals.
Worley had seven points, four steals and three assists. Lindsay Hartl had four points and six rebounds. Yeley had five points and five rebounds for the hosts.
Mt. Vernon shot 12 of 23 from long range, a far cry from Connersville’s 1 of 17 shooting. Once the Spartans had cut the deficit to two, they launched 3-pointer after 3-pointer to try to take the lead. None fell, and momentum quickly slipped away.
Connersville was 0 of 10 from long range in the second half. Mt. Vernon made 7 of 11 in the half.
It was the second time this season that Mt. Vernon beat the Spartans by at least 30 points. Now, they look to topple another team they’ve seen this year, Pendleton Heights, in Friday’s sectional semifinal.
They may have home-court advantage, but that doesn’t mean it will be easy.
“We’re all really young, so not many of us have good experience or enough experience at a sectional,” Lexi Shelton said. “It’s just a different feeling. You’re still at home, but everyone is 0-0. Connersville could have been a surprise. It definitely at least gets the jitters out. Pendleton’s a good team. We’re going to have to play to be able to beat them, but I think we have a good shot.”
“We just have to focus on Pendleton and what we need to do against them, and mentally come out and be prepared, and realize it’s a long game,” Julie Shelton said. “I think more than anything, that was obvious tonight.”
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With the victories Tuesday night, Hancock County teams set up three exciting sectional semifinal contests set for Friday night.
Sectional 9 – Mt. Vernon
6 p.m. – Pendleton Heights vs. Mt. Vernon
7:30 p.m. – New Palestine vs. Greenfield-Central
Sectional 42 – Shenandoah
7:30 p.m. No. 2 Triton Central vs. Eastern Hancock
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Mt. Vernon 61, Connersville 28
Mt. Vernon;21;6;14;20;—;61
Connersville;13;6;6;3;—;28
Mt. Vernon (18-5): Lexi Shelton 9 3-3 25, Abby Worley 3 0-1 7, Sydnee Perry 6 0-0 17, Tessa Freeman 0 0-0 0, Lindsay Hartl 2 0-0 4, Shay Shipley 0 0-0 0, Maddie Swingle 1 0-0 3, Olivia Yeley 2 0-0 5. Totals: 23 3-4 61.
Connersville (10-13): Marley Smith 2 4-8 8, Jessica Beckman 3 6-6 12, Paige Dunaway 0 2-3 2, Lauren Thompson 0 0-0 0, Elise Bottomley 1 1-2 3, Gianna Struewing 1 0-0 3, Tylissa Beckner 0 0-0 0. Totals: 7 13-19 28.
3-point goals: Mt. Vernon 12 (Perry 5, Shelton 4, Swingle, Worley, Yeley), Connersville 1 (Struewing).
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