Flyers roll past Cavaliers

COLDWATER - After scuffling the first few minutes, Marion Local flipped a switch and took control.

The Flyers went on a 20-2 run to end the first half and took a 20-point lead in the third on the way to a 49-28 win over Coldwater in a Midwest Athletic Conference girls basketball game at the Palace on Thursday.

"We want to bring defensive pressure, because we're quick enough and deep enough and can frustrate teams," Marion coach Beth Streib said. "You could see them getting frustrated tonight."

Trailing 11-7 with 2:18 left in the first, Marion (5-3, 2-1 MAC) got a bucket by Sammy Hoelscher and forced a pair of turnovers before Hanna Rose turned a steal into a long jumper and tied the game at 11. After another Cavaliers turnover, Hoelscher hit a three with less than 10 seconds remaining to stake Marion to a 14-11 lead.

In the second, the Flyers doubled down on their pressure, forcing five turnovers and scoring the next 11 points before Jenna Leugers sank a pair of free throws to stop the run. Olivia DeMange added a long two with a minute left and Marion went into the half with a 14-point lead.

"They put pressure on us on all parts, and at times we just didn't handle the basketball, we didn't get the ball inside, we didn't look to shoot the ball when we were open on the outside," Coldwater coach Amy Meyer said. "They just took us mentally out of our game."

Coldwater (4-4, 1-2 MAC) kept the deficit around 14 for most of the third, but late in the quarter the Flyers managed to stretch the lead again. Hoelscher hit the first of two free throws, grabbed her own rebound on the second and put back a layup to make it 35-19 with 3:31 left in the quarter, then added another bucket a minute later. Olivia DeMange sank a three with 1:41 left to get the lead over 20 for the first time, but Riley Rismiller hit a layup to keep it at 19 heading into the fourth.  

The Cavaliers couldn't rally in the fourth, managing just two field goals and turning the ball over four more times to bring the total to 18 on the game.

"We had quite a few turnovers, but we just didn't look to shoot the basketball," Meyer said. "There were some people that I felt could've shot the ball, but they just hesitated. Once we hesitate, that's usually not a positive result."

Coldwater took an early lead, with Leugers hitting an open three a minute in and Rismiller and Becca Wenning adding buckets to make it 7-2 three minutes into the game. Freshman Avae Unrast drained a three to cut the lead to 7-5, the Flyers forced their first turnover on the next possession, and the two teams traded baskets.

Leugers hit a pair of free throws to make it 11-7, but Hoelscher answered on the other end to start Marion's run.

"From the beginning, we wanted to bring defensive pressure," Streib said. "Early on, we weren't really great, and once we decided to do that, things got better and we got some easier points on the other end."

Hoelscher led the Flyers with 15 points and eight rebounds, while DeMange scored 10. Rismiller scored 13 for the Cavaliers and pulled down eight rebounds.

"We wanted to keep her as far from the basket as we could and get somebody else over to help whenever she got the ball," Streib said of Rismiller. "But she's a great passer out of the post as well, she's going to find open looks. I think she got 13 or 14 points, but they were all contested and hard-fought."

Marion has a 10-day layoff before taking on Coldwater in the OVISCO Classic at the Fieldhouse on Dec. 27. Coldwater has another game before the break, hosting Bath on Tuesday.