FORTVILLE — As the regular season winds down, the pressure continues to mount, but the Class 4A No. 8 Mt. Vernon Marauders aren’t letting the numbers creep into their heads.
Unbeaten since Nov. 9, undefeated in the Hoosier Heritage Conference to date at 4-0 and unchallenged against potential sectional foes so far this season, the Mt. Vernon girls basketball team has one focus.
Win the game at hand first, not the games you haven’t played yet down the road.
On Tuesday night at home, the Marauders stayed locked in, winning their 18th straight game while defeating their fourth possible sectional opponent in Richmond, 58-22.
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"We don’t want to focus completely on (our winning streak) because then we’ll think about how we have to win, so we think about getting it as we go," Mt. Vernon’s Sydnee Perry said. "We work hard, so it’s not a huge focus for us, but it’s more like an extra bonus to how we’re playing."
The Marauders have been tested, continue to pass each one and keep on rolling since losing at Warren Central more than two months ago.
Their current winning streak matches their last longest of 18 games achieved in 2010-11, but it took some time to unfold.
Richmond played shorthanded without two key players in Alayha Allen (8.2 points per game) and Nyajah Orr (8.3 ppg, 3.6 assists per game), but the Red Devils hung with the Marauders early on.
Mt. Vernon held a slim 12-11 lead after the first quarter until Perry ignited the offense from long range with back-to-back 3-pointers.
The Marauders (19-1) finished the night 8 of 17 from deep, including six in the first half.
"I thought we had a really poor start, and then I thought we gradually got better in second quarter. I thought we played a very good third quarter," Mt. Vernon head coach Julie Shelton said. "We gave up 11 points in the first quarter and 11 points the rest of the game, and I’m defensive person, so that’s what I see. I wholeheartedly believe the defensive end is where you get the win."
The defense ramped up as the Marauders’ shooting heated up in the second quarter as Perry, Lexi Shelton and Abby Worley combined for 16 steals through the game.
The Marauders held the Red Devils (10-10) to two points in the second quarter and didn’t allow a single player to score more than seven points.
"We’ve been struggling a little bit with that especially in the second half and third quarter, it’s been rough for us, so we needed to come out strong," Perry said. "Today, we kind of did that a little more."
Perry finished with a game-high 18 points with three steals, two rebounds and three assists. Lexi Shelton had 17 points, six steals and three assists. Worley had seven steals and four assists to go with five points.
Olivia Yeley hauled in six rebounds as the Marauders’ lead swelled to 44-17 entering the fourth quarter.
"We’re going to have to play them again, and they had a couple of starters out. I think they were just trying to slow it down a little because they had those starters out," Shelton said. "It was harder on them to run what they wanted to run."
The Marauders are now looking to run the table before the postseason starts to win the HHC outright with three league games remaining on the schedule.
Mt. Vernon travels to Greenfield-Central on Friday before hosting New Castle next Tuesday and Delta on Thursday for the regular-season finale.
"With three conference games left, they’re going to be tough. Greenfield’s been playing really well, and it’s a county and conference rival, so we’re really going to have to show up and play. That’s going to be a battle. It always is," Julie Shelton said.
"I’m very hard on them, but I’m super proud of their winning streak and what they’ve done. I just don’t want them to get satisfied because we still have a lot to do."
