FORTVILLE — If shooting efficiency was a disease, then the Class 4A ninth-ranked Mt. Vernon Marauders were prime candidates for quarantine on Thursday night.
The Marauders came out firing against Mississinewa, converting their first eight 3-point attempts before missing from long range to win big 70-33.
Junior Lexi Shelton finished 8-for-9 from 3-point range en route to a 24-point night, while senior Sydnee Perry added four treys and another 24 points for the Mt. Vernon girls basketball team’s 15th consecutive victory.
"That’s probably the most (3-pointers) we’ve hit since I’ve been here, but I’m not positive. That’s probably for sure the best 3-point percent we’ve had," said Marauders head coach Julie Shelton, who has led the program for 19 seasons.
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"We can shoot. We practice shooting a lot. Shooting is one of those things, once you get confident, the goal looks bigger, bigger and bigger."
Against 3A Mississinewa (10-7), the goal was large enough to be seen from space as the Marauders shot a blistering 10 of 13 (76 percent) in the first quarter and 18 of 31 (58 percent) in the first half to go up 50-12.
Mt. Vernon shot 14 of 24 from beyond the arc in the game, setting a new season high.
Lexi Shelton had 18 points by halftime and Perry posted 21 points by shooting 8 of 12 from the field with a free throw mixed in to highlight a 29-point first frame and a 21-point second.
"When we’re relaxed our game flows. We’ve played with each other long enough that we know," Lexi Shelton said. "(This season) is something I’ve never experienced before. This group, the seniors, juniors and sophomores have all played together since we were in second, third, fourth grade. So we all know each other, and it’s just playing like we have the past 10 years."
The Marauders familiarity has played a role in the program’s recent run, which started after losing to Warren Central on the road, 49-43, on Nov. 14.
Since, the Marauders haven’t missed an opportunity to win. Their largest margin of victory through the past 15 games was 62-9 against Carroll (Flora) during the Twin Lakes Tournament on Dec. 27.
Their smallest margin of victory was against 4A No. 10 North Central, 75-72 on Dec. 21.
The program’s longest winning streak prior to this season’s ran through 18 games in 2010-11 under Shelton. The Marauders won 17 in a row with Shelton as head coach in 2009-10.
"To me (the streak is) a great thing, but a scary thing because everyone has bad nights. I don’t want the bad night to be at the wrong time," Julie Shelton laughed.
It wasn’t meant to strike during the Marauders seventh home win of the season where they are unbeaten with four more to go.
While the streak remains in their peripheral. It’s hardly on the players’ minds.
"It’s just a number. We play to our best every single game. When you think about that number, I feel like the pressure is on more and when you go out there and play, it’s pretty hard to beat," Lexi Shelton said.
With Lexi Shelton healthy after contending with an ankle and knee injury earlier this year, the Marauders are getting stronger with six regular-season games left before the Richmond Sectional.
Lexi Shelton came into the night 14.8 points per game. Perry was averaging 14.6 ppg. Abby Worley, who contributes 8.6 ppg, scored 10 with the Marauders other two 3-pointers.
The Marauders best 3-point shooting night this season before Thursday was 10 of 19 against Yorktown on Dec. 14 and 10 of 19 versus North Central. Mt. Vernon has buried no fewer than two treys in a game and have only dropped below four three times.
"The Yorktown game, I think we had (10) in that game. The first half was the same kind of thing, and we’ve done that a couple of times, but there’s been games that we’ve hit two 3s because you lose that confidence," Julie Shelton said. "Shooting is confidence."
At the moment, the Marauders have the swagger, climbing up to 11th in the latest Indiana Basketball Coaches Association’s Top 20 rankings this week.
"We work on (shooting) at practice everyday, so it makes it pretty easy to hit them, especially in your home gym when that’s all you work on," Lexi Shelton said. "That’s where most of our energy is based off of, which can be a good and a bad thing. But it was definitely a good thing tonight."
