MUNCIE — Down 29-22 after the third quarter against rival Pendleton Heights, Mt. Vernon senior Lexi Shelton yelled out before the Marauders took the floor for the fourth.
“We’re not losing this game!,” Shelton declared.
The Marauders delivered on Shelton’s guarantee Tuesday night and avoided a repeat of the 2019-20 postseason.
Using a 15-0 run to take the lead 30-29 with 3 minutes, 43 seconds remaining in the game — and a 19-3 run overall — the Marauders rallied back to beat Pendleton Heights, 36-32, and advanced to the Class 4A Sectional 9 semifinals on Friday.
Shelton finished with a game-high 17 points on 5 of 11 shooting, including a 5-for-5 effort from the free-throw line, and the Marauders won their ninth straight game to escape the sectional quarterfinals at Muncie Fieldhouse.
“I knew if we played confident, we were going to come out with the win no matter how far we got down,” Shelton said. “The seniors didn’t want (last year) to happen again. We talked all year about how last year is over. It’s a new year, and we’re not letting it happen again. And, that’s exactly what we did.”
In last year’s sectional quarterfinals, the Marauders (16-6) were upset by rival New Palestine, 41-32, ending their 21-game winning streak after claiming the Hoosier Heritage Conference title outright.
This time around, the winning streak wasn’t as long for the back-to-back outright HHC champions, but the climb was just as steep against the Arabians, who Mt. Vernon beat 49-38 during the regular season on Jan. 2.
The Arabians (11-11) built a 20-12 halftime lead behind a 7-0 run after Mt. Vernon clawed back 13-12 with 4:38 left in the second quarter.
A 7-0 run in the third quarter by Pendleton Heights put the Marauders behind by its largest margin, 29-17, before Mt. Vernon flipped the switch.
“We were struggling rebounding. We were struggling defensively early to get any real turnovers on them. They were getting a lot more shots early,” MV head coach Julie Shelton said. “We had to find combinations that were working, and finally that last group really jelled and got it going together.”
A big part of the crew was junior Shay Shipley and junior Maddie Swingle.
Shipley had zero points but posted five crucial assists and five steals, with three coming in the fourth quarter.
Swingle had two points and six rebounds. Three of her rebounds came off the offensive glass in the second half, where the Marauders struggled with just one second-chance shot in the first half.
In the second half, the Marauders grabbed eight offensive rebounds and outscored the Arabians 24-12.
“Shay and Maddie on defense were tremendous. There at the end, it was more defense and rebounding and trying to score when we could,” Julie Shelton said.
Mt. Vernon put together a 5-0 run to end the third quarter and they continued to neutralize the Arabians in the final eight minutes, allowing just three points in the fourth. On Mt. Vernon’s 15-0 run, the Arabians went scoreless for 6:26.
Ellery Minch, a freshman, returned to the court for the Marauders after missing the past four games with an injury, and she made an impact.
Minch finished with eight points and three rebounds. All of her points came in the fourth quarter. Abby Worley had five points. Olivia Yeley had four.
Pendleton Heights’ Kylie Davis scored a team-high 12 points followed by six points apiece from Kylea Lloyd and Alayna Conkling. Whitney Warfel had seven points.
A bucket by Lloyd with 3:10 left cut Mt. Vernon’s lead 32-31, but Minch converted a pair of free throws to push it to 34-31 with 1:17 remaining.
The Arabians went 1-for-3 from the foul line in the final minute, while Worley iced the game with a pair of free throws with 21 seconds left.
“That’s huge. That’s huge when you don’t ever quit. Doesn’t matter how far you are, you just have to keep fighting, and I’m super proud of all of them for continuing to fight and fight,” Julie Shelton said.
The Marauders will now face Richmond (8-5) in the semifinals on Friday at 6 p.m.
