MUNCIE — Once the celebration commenced at half court inside Muncie Fieldhouse the laughter shortly ensued.
Known for their tenacious defense and intense competitiveness, the Class 4A Mt. Vernon Marauders collectively seized hold of their Sectional 9 championship trophy on Saturday night with a Herculean grip.
Perhaps, a little too firmly?
Before the champion Marauders could hoist their prize after defeating rival New Palestine, 49-28, for the sectional title, the trophy unexpectedly came undone as a piece broke off and fell into senior forward Lexi Shelton’s right hand.
The Marauders could care less. They could only smile, cover their mouths and giggle.
“Coach (Jessica) Brown said, ‘We broke the trophy because that’s how we’ve been all year, broken,’” Mt. Vernon head coach Julie Shelton joked. “But, we just keep plugging away.”
A fortuitous happenstance, albeit a microcosm moment in the grand scheme, for the unrelenting Marauders (18-5) following their second sectional title in three years and 16th all time.
Halted from a repeat run last year by the Dragons, who upset the state-ranked Marauders in the quarterfinals and their 21-game winning streak, Mt. Vernon spent the entirety of the offseason turning the page.
Then, the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded, putting the 2020-21 season in question. For added measure, the Marauders, like many programs statewide, had limited summer preparation due to school closures.
Once the season did launch this past November, things continued to go sideways for the Marauders. A 3-2 start led to an eventual 19-day hiatus from games, due to contact tracing quarantines through early December.
There was always an obstacle to overcome, a new setback, and the Marauders simply smiled, figuratively rolled up their sleeves and carried on.
“I think that’s what experience does. We’ve been hurt and they never gave up. They just fought and fought all year through everything. Through ups and downs, different starting lineups, through different roles, and that’s what they did here at the tournament,” Shelton said. “We sure didn’t make it easier on ourselves those first couple of nights and even the first half here, but then we finally started clicking.”
The Marauders, much like during the season, had a hole to climb out of during their sectional quarterfinal game against Hoosier Heritage Conference rival Pendleton Heights on Feb. 2.
Down by as many as 12 points to the Arabians last Tuesday, defense dictated the final outcome, fueling a 19-3 tide-turning run and a 36-32 win to avoid another early postseason exit.
The same unfolded again against the Dragons, who the Marauders, similar to the Arabians, beat during their outright 7-0 campaign to repeat as HHC champions.
“It’s everything,” Mt. Vernon junior Olivia Yeley remarked on the team’s defensive mentality. “It’s how we get our momentum going and everyone came in and put in some really good minutes, again, like Maddie (Swingle) and Shay (Shipley). They’re so good on defense and without them we wouldn’t be here.”
Reuniting was the key for the Marauders, who are driven by nine players, including six seniors, that have competed on the court together over the years since the second and third grade.
Their chemistry sparked the team’s eight-game winning streak to end the regular season, win three more at sectional and pushed the count to 11 consecutive. Their sisterhood kept spirits high while dealing with various player injuries, illnesses and personal issues within their basketball family.
“We’ve been through so much adversity. People have had some pass away in our family during the season, and COVID has obviously made an impact on things, especially with the quarantining,” Yeley said. “We just knew if we kept pushing through and we kept fighting, everything will be OK in the end.”
Down 7-6 after the first quarter against New Palestine, the Marauders trailed again 13-12 in the second and later 17-16 to start the third quarter.
Then, they remembered who they were.
A 13-0 run put them in control 29-17 and eventually ahead by as many as 23 points in the fourth quarter, which Lexi Shelton initiated with a pass from Shipley for a quick layup and an 18-17 lead with 6 minutes, 48 seconds to go in the third quarter.
As the Dragons went scoreless for 10:25 in the second half, the Marauders forced 10 turnovers (19 overall) and amassed 11 steals in the game.
They upheld their 37.3 points per game average, holding the Dragons to 14 second-half points and didn’t permit a single New Palestine player to reach double figures.
New Palestine’s Anna Ackerman had a team-high seven points, followed by Isabella Gizzi’s six and Addi Jones’ four.
“We just hang our hat on that because that’s what we can control. You can’t control always making shots or things going well offensively, but you can control how hard you guard and rebound,” Julie Shelton said. “I was super proud of all of them. They played extremely hard.”
Lexi Shelton finished with a game-high 16 points, converting 5 of 7 shot attempts and all five free-throw tries. She had a pair of steals, while fellow seniors Abby Worley and Riley Hasseld both totaled three steals each.
Worley scored the game’s first basket by design, and she ended the night with eight points. Hasseld had five, while the team’s infusion of returning players handled the rest.
Part of the Marauders’ 2018-19 sectional championship roster, Swingle and Shipley, both juniors, returned to the court this season along with senior Katie Gawrys, who all starred on the school’s girls soccer team.
Their roles continued to grow this season as did their familiarity with their former basketball teammates, and it further cemented the program’s identity.
Shipley has increased her role as a facilitator, dishing out six assists against New Palestine with two steals and three points. Swingle had nine points and two steals off the bench, while Gawrys, who last played basketball three years ago earned a starting spot.
Freshman newcomer Ellery Minch, who like Yeley, contended with an injury this year, supplied six points.
“It’s just really special. With my own kid (Lexi), and five other seniors and all these girls that have played together, every one of them, since they were little bitty and after how last year ended, this is really exciting,” Julie Shelton said.
“That’s what so awesome. They all really, really like each other. They know each other. They want to do well for each other and they know when to step up. And, they accept their roles. We’re a good team, and that’s what good teams do.”
How good are they?
Their 33 points in the second half defined their potential as they avenged their 41-32 quarterfinal loss in 2019-20 to advance into this upcoming Saturday’s Decatur Central Regional against Roncalli (20-4) in the semifinals at noon.
“We’ve played with each other for so long that we know each others’ strengths and weaknesses, and we have confidence in each other and trust each other,” Worley said. “The confidence between us, we just know we’re going to win.”
As for the trophy, they’re not quite sharing that responsibility.
“Yeah, we think Lexi did it, but she’s blaming Ellery,” Worley laughed. “But, it’s funny that it happened. We just grabbed it and grabbed the (basketball player) right off of it.”
