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New Knoxville's Keira Wellman (5) reaches out to grab the ball against Marion Local.
NEW KNOXVILLE - As one of three unbeaten girls' basketball teams in the Midwest Athletic Conference heading into last evening's contest at New Knoxville, Marion Local wanted nothing more than to march into Christmas week remaining unscathed and sitting one game out of first place in the MAC standings.
When the dust cleared in the Barn, the Flyers earned a hard-fought 51-47 victory over the Rangers to improving to 7-0 overall and 3-0 in the conference.
"Any time you get a road win in the MAC, it's a good night," said Marion Local coach Beth Strieb. "Games like tonight where we faced some tough situations, it can only help us down the road. Two of our seniors (Chloe Ronnebaum and Avae Unrast) stepped up and had big moments when we needed them and that was a key for us as well."
Marion Local's Chloe Ronnebaum goes up for a basket against New Knoxville.
The Rangers shook things up first at the start of the opening period by pulling ahead 9-2, a cushion fueled by a pair of three-pointers from sophomore Avery Albers and freshman Keira Wellman. From there, it was a back-and-forth affair marred by turnovers on both ends of the floor as the two teams combined for 14 turnovers in the opening period, with the home team enjoying a 12-8 advantage heading into the second stanza.
"We came in tonight wanting to shut down their big scorers and I feel in our matchup zone, we always knew where their best shooters were," said New Knoxville coach Alivia Koenig. "We knew Marion Local would pressure us and that showed in the first quarter, but I feel we settled in after that."
As the second period unfolded and both teams settled in, they each played much smoother with the Rangers extending their command to 19-13 midway through the period following a driving layup from junior Addi Albers. At that point, Marion Local senior Avae Unrast decided enough was enough and connected for six points over the next two minutes. The Flyers closed the period by draining the quarter's final six points, including a shot at the buzzer by senior Chloe Ronnebaum which gave her team their first lead of the evening at 27-26. "We wanted to apply pressure up front tonight," remarked Streib. "I feel the physical nature of the game benefitted us because we could use our speed with our guards."
New Knoxville's Avery Albers (4) goes up to block the shot of Marion Local's Emersyn Mescher.
A driving layup by Avery Albers ignited New Knoxville's scoring in the second half, and a jumper from senior Brynn Egbert gave the home team a 30-27 lead, but the Flyers responded with six straight points, only to have Wellman drain another long ball to tangle things back up at 33 points. The Flyers however kept their composure and a three-pointer from Unrast as time expired gave the Blue and Gold a 41-36 edge heading into the final period.
"Tonight was a very physical game," Koenig said. "I feel that sort of game though really helps to get our girls momentum going. Despite the outcome, I feel we played well tonight. We moved the ball around and shot well and that is all you can ask."
New Knoxville fired up the final stanza with three-pointers from Paige Webb and Addi Albers to give their team a one-point lead and from there the two squads scratched, shoved, and clawed out the remainder of the contest. Another long ball from Webb knotted things at 47, but the Flyers slammed the door shut from the free throw line to ride away with the four-point victory.
"We were able to use some different combinations tonight with some girls getting in foul trouble," Streib said. "I thought Kylie Schoenlein came in and did what we asked her to do, and in the end Natalie Evers played solid defense for us. We always tell the girls they need to be ready at any moment."
The Flyers were led by Avae Unrast with a game-high 16 points and seven rebounds, while Chloe Ronnebaum chipped in 15 counters.
Addi Albers led the Rangers (2-6, 0-3 MAC) with 15 points, with Brynn Egbert dumping in 10.
Marion returns to action Dec. 27 to start the Battle of 119 series in hosting St. Henry, then travels to Fort Recovery Dec. 28 to complete its games in the series. New Knoxville hosts Jackson Center on Saturday.
