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Marion Local's Faith Ronnebaum (40) fights for a rebound against Coldwater's Mia Knapke.
MARIA STEIN - Marion Local and Coldwater battled in what could be summed up in two words: MAC basketball. A 12-0 run in the third quarter gave the Flyers a lead they would not lose in a 35-28 sectional final win over the Cavaliers at the Hangar Thursday night.
The win, announced as the last girls basketball game in the historic gymnasium, gives Marion Local (16-7) a chance at MAC champions St. Henry next Wednesday in Wapakoneta.
"It's tournament time so you never know what's going to happen," Marion Local coach Beth Streib said of the matchup. "We're going to have to come out more ready than we did tonight and see what happens."
It was Coldwater who came out flying in the first quarter. Five points from Harlow Heyne, including a last second three, gave the Cavs a 10-3 lead at the end of the quarter. Marion Local was just 1-for-15 in the opening eight minutes, and Claire Bruns' two points led the Flyers after the first.
"They came out and played us very hard," Streib said. "They're young and scrappy and they played hard."
The second quarter was more even. A Kate Ashman layup off an inbounds play trimmed the Coldwater lead to 11-5, but Brylee Knapke answered back for the visitors with a three. She was the fourth different scorer for the Cavs in just 13 minutes of play.
Marion Local's Claire Bruns got the Flyers close at 15-10, but again Coldwater answered. Brielle Dingledine charged up the floor and got a good shot off from the foul line that swished through the net to give Coldwater the 17-10 lead. It also gave the Cavs momentum entering the locker room, but business was about to pick up for the Flyers.
Marion Local's Claire Bruns goes for a steal against Coldwater's Brylee Knapke (10). Bruns finished with 10 points.
Marion came out in a zone, after a half of man-to-man defense, to start the third. Bruns got a steal and score to open the quarter, and the score was 17-12 with 6:50 on the clock. Another miss from Coldwater turned into two points the other way as Ashman got a nice pass from Faith Ronnebaum inside to make it a three-point game.
Mya Eckstein kept the run going on a floater to trim the deficit to just one, and the junior earned a trip to the line the next time up the floor. She calmly made them both and Marion led 18-17, their first lead of the game with 2:36 left in the third.
"Our defensive intensity picked some things up and created some easy scores to get our offense going," Streib said.
Kiley Schoenlein's steal gave the ball back to Marion Local and Ashman earned a trip to the line. While she made just one, an offensive rebound gave the Flyers another chance. The ball was worked to Ashman in the corner, and the guard nailed a trey to put Marion Local up 22-17. Coldwater's miss at the buzzer ended a scoreless quarter, and the Flyers took a lead into the final frame.
"They switched their defense up," Coldwater coach Amy Meyer said of the quarter. "Offensively we got back on our heels and we missed a couple good shots. We just didn't attack and move as well as we needed to."
The fourth quarter played out like most fans figured the whole game would go. The teams traded baskets to start, and a three from Coldwater's Ava Smith cut the margin to 24-22. A miss from Marion allowed Coldwater a chance to tie it up, and Brylee Knapke did just that with an and-one put-back. The free-throw was missed, and the score sat at 24-all with 5:29 left.
Ronnebaum got on the score sheet next possession for the Flyers to put them back on top. Mia Knapke's free-throws tied it up again, but Mya Eckstein's tough inside shot made it 28-26 Marion Local with 3:30 left.
Coldwater's Harlow Heyne (30) shoots over Marion Local's Kiley Schoenlein.
With two minutes left, Ronnebaum missed a chance to put Marion Local up two possessions at the line. Coldwater's next possession saw a missed shot, and a big out of bounds call on the rebound gave the ball to the Flyers.
After a timeout from Marion Local, Bruns was fouled and made one of her two attempts to make it a 29-26 game with 1:16 left. A miss from the Cavs and coach Meyer called for the intentional foul. That foul did not come however, as a big time press break set up Ronnebaum with an easy layup on the other end. It was 31-26 Marion with 50 seconds left, and a nail was hit into the coffin.
Another Coldwater miss all but ended the contest, and Marion hung on for the seven-point win.
It ends a tough season for the Cavs, who were always competitive against MAC teams despite a 3-6 conference record.
"We had two wins coming into tonight, and I thought we were playing well," Meyer said. "You got to take what you've put together and use it as a stepping stone and move into next year with some confidence, but yet not forget this taste, you don't want this one again."
Ashman paced the Flyers with 12 points, while Bruns added 10. Coldwater was led by Mia Knapke's eight points and five rebounds.
