MANSFIELD – Shelby started three freshmen against Galion on Tuesday night in the Division II girls sectional basketball tournament at Mansfield Senior.
But after a regular season filled with growing pains, the young Whippets (12-11) and their older teammates showed youth will indeed be served, witnessed by a 54-35 beating of the Galion Tigers.
“Our freshmen have come a long way this season,” Shelby coach Natalie Lantz said after her team won for the seventh time in the last nine games. “The biggest thing coming in as freshmen on the varsity level is trying to learn their pace of the game and their role – and feeling like they are not stepping on the toes of the upperclassmen.
“We are starting to come together now and play as a team. When we do that, we are able to compete with the better teams and great things are possible,” Lantz said.
The youth was even more important on Tuesday as the Whippets were without the services of seniors MacKenzie Wagers (concussion) and Jessica Miller (ankle), both of whom may be ready for the next game.
With freshmen point guard Jackie Garrett, guard Kenna Goth and forward Maddi Fidler in the starting lineup, Shelby raced out to leads of 8-0 and 14-4 before settling for a 16-7 edge after the first quarter. Galion, which also started three underclassmen, turned the ball over on its first five possessions and ended the period with nine turnovers.
The Lady Tigers were simply never able to recover, down 28-13 at the half and 37-22 after three quarters.
Senior guard Taylor Fulton led Shelby with 16 points. Goth added 12 and junior Gabby Stevens had 11. No Galion player reached double figures, though sophomore Taylor Valentine, junior Grace Brown and senior Raven Crawford each had eight points.
Shelby shot 43 percent from the field (23 of 53) and 58 percent at the foul line (seven of 12). Galion shot just 33 percent from the floor (15 of 46) and 63 percent at the line (five of eight). Both teams had 33 rebounds and Galion committed six more turnovers than Shelby, 22-16.
Shelby advances to meet Clear Fork on Saturday at 8 p.m. in the Divison II sectional title game at Mansfield Senior. The winner of that game advances to the district semifinals on Feb. 27 at 6:15 at Buckeye Central High School in New Washington.
“We scrimmaged Clear Fork this season. They love to pressure the ball. We just need to stay composed and play our game,” Lantz said.
