FORTVILLE — For three quarters the Mt. Vernon girls basketball team and Westfield put on a back-and-forth contest.
Then the fourth quarter hit.
A tired Marauders (2-4) starting lineup that had played the entire game, was outscored 15-4 in the final quarter to fall to the Shamrocks (3-1) at home 51-42.
“We were tired, and a couple of things didn’t go our way. Once we got tired, we got sloppy and they were able to hit a bunch of shots in a row. Even if nobody is guarding you it’s tough to hit as many threes as they did,” Mt. Vernon head coach Julie Shelton said. “We missed a couple of easy shots too, and the momentum just swung. We just don’t have a lot of experience in our subs and we had a chance to stay in this game.”
Westfield closed out the third quarter with a Lindsey Van Dyke 3-pointer to cut the Mt. Vernon lead down to 38-36. The basket was the beginning of an 18-0 Shamrocks run sparked by the tired legs of Mt. Vernon, and the inability by the Marauders to force turnovers. In the first half, the Marauders forced eight Westfield turnovers and in the second half were held to just four.
Westfield scored the first 15 points of the fourth quarter sparked by a pair of Reagan Lorenzen 3-pointers before Kaitlyn Laffey hit a pair of free throws with just under 2:30 left to play for the Marauders first points since the 1:30 mark of the third quarter.
Laffey hit two more late free throws for the Marauders only fourth-quarter points.
“We’re still trying to fight through having confidence when things aren’t going our way,” Shelton said. “We’re only 2-4, so we just need to get that confidence to put a whole game together and continue to play through some adversity.”
An Ellie Kelleher three in the closing moments of the opening quarter gave Westfield a 10-8 lead after one, but the Marauders played their best eight minutes of the night in the second quarter to take a 28-22 halftime lead.
A Kanyonrae Kenny 3-pointer cut the lead to 13-11, and an Ellery Minch assist to Laffey tied things at 13. A Reagan Britt free throw and a Minch layup capped off an 8-0 Mt. Vernon run and put them ahead 16-13 midway through the second quarter.
A trio of Mt. Vernon deep balls pushed the lead to the biggest of the night for the Marauders, 26-17, before Westfield reeled off five points in the final 45 seconds of the half.
Kenny knocked in one 3-pointer, and Wampler added two over the final three minutes of the quarter.
Two Aubrey Crocket long balls kicked off the third quarter and were the precursor to the Shamrocks 18-0 run.
On the night, Westfield scored over half their points from beyond the 3-point line.
Led by Crocket’s four, the Shamrocks sunk nine shots from deep.
“They did a great job of penetrating, finding the open person, and making a few extra passes,” Shelton said. “But it’s also hard to hit as many in a row as they did.”
Laffey led the Marauders with 12 points, Minch scored 11 and added five rebounds, four assists, and three blocks. Wampler scored six and had a pair of steals, and Kenny knocked home two 3s and finished the night with 10 points.
Mt. Vernon hosts Rushville on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
–
Westfield 51, Mt. Vernon 42
Westfield;10;12;14;15;—;51
Mt. Vernon;8;20;10;4;—;42
Westfield (3-1): Reagan Lorenzen 3 0-0 9, Ellie Kelleher 3 3-4 10, Aubrey Crocket 4 0-0 12, Kiki Loveless 1 1-2 3, Lindsey Van Dyke 4 0-1 9, Sam Price 2 0-0 4, MaKayla Hatcher 2 0-0 4. Totals: 19 4-7 51.
Mt. Vernon (2-4): Ellery Minch 5 0-0 11, Easton Wampler 2 0-0 6, Kanyonrae Kenny 4 0-0 10, Kaitlyn Laffey 3 5-6 12, Reagan Britt 1 1-4 3. Totals: 15 6-10 42.
3-point goals: Westfield 9 (Crocket 4, Lorenzen 3, Kelleher 1, Van Dyke 1); Mt. Vernon 6 (Wampler 2, Kenny 2, Minch 1, Laffey 1).
