SHELBY, Ohio — The Whippets weathered the storm Tuesday night.
Shelby nearly let a double-digit lead slip away during a wild fourth quarter, but dodged a bullet with some timely free throw shooting in a 47-42 Northern Ohio League win over upstart Ontario.
The Whippets (4-1, 2-0) were outscored 21-12 in the fourth, but connected on all four of their free throws in the final minute to avoid the upset.
“I never felt like we got into a good offensive flow tonight and sometimes you have those games,” Shelby coach Natalie Lantz said. “We were able to pull together and hold off.
“When we communicate and we’re moving and rotating, good things happen on defense. Obviously, there was a breakdown in the fourth quarter. That can’t happen.”
Breathing Room: Shelby built a 35-21 lead in the third quarter, outscoring Ontario 10-2. The Warriors (1-2, 1-1) were 1 of 12 from the field and committed eight turnovers.
“We struggled to score in the third quarter. That seems to be the case sometimes, we come out in the third quarter a little bit flat,” Ontario coach Sarah Krichbaum said. “I thought we made a really good push in the fourth quarter. I’m very proud of the kids’ effort and their willingness to fight and stay in the game.
“I think it showed a lot of character from our kids.”
Chipping Away: Ontario cut Shelby’s lead to 41-35 on a Madeline Collins layup off an Amanda Nething assist with 4:04 remaining. Nashail Shelby’s 3-pointer with 2:26 to go trimmed the Whippets’ advantage to 43-38, but the Warriors misfired on the front end of a one-and-one with 1:49 to go. Shelby’s Sienna King hit both ends of a one-and-one with 58 seconds to play and Kennadie Goth drained a pair of free throws with 37 seconds to play for a 47-39 lead.
King led the way for the Whippets with 19 points. Goth had nine points and a game-high 10 rebounds while Maddi Fidler added eight points.
Shelby topped Ontario with 13 points. Olivia Shaver scored seven of her 10 points in the fourth quarter.
Rusty: The Whippets hadn’t played since beating Willard back on Nov. 28. The 10-day layoff left Shelby a little rusty.
“We saw a lull, having a week-and-a-half in between games,” Lantz said. “I think that’s hard once you get into a game routine. I don’t like these lulls.”
Youth Movement: The Warriors have just one senior on the roster.
“They’re young and they’re very athletic,” Lantz said. “They’ve improved a lot since last year.”
Ontario has six juniors and six sophomores on the varsity roster.
“This year I think we’ve going to be able to come out and be a lot more competitive,” Krichbaum said. “We had a lot of freshman last year and that experience has definitely played a big part this year.”
