LUCAS, Ohio — Arianna Marx is making up for lost time.
A 5-foot-10 junior, Marx came off the bench to score 18 points and lead Plymouth to a 45-42 win over Lucas at the Cub Cave.
Marx transferred from Shelby and, per Ohio High School Athletic Association rules, had to sit out the first 11 games of the season.
“She’s a solid player and pretty smooth with the basketball in her hands,” Plymouth coach Scott Speicher said. “We went to her more in the post than we normally do. We’re more of a transition and perimeter team, but circumstances dictate what you do. We figured we had a mismatch on the block.”
Big Loss: The Big Red (2-17) lost freshman standout Emily Blanton to a knee injury early in the second quarter. The 5-foot-8 point guard scored 10 of Plymouth’s first 18 points before crashing to the floor with 5:11 to play in the first half.
“We’re not sure how serious it is,” Speicher said. “She does a lot of things for us, but it was next person up.”
Leading 18-16 at the time of the injury, Plymouth outscored Lucas (2-12) 10-2 the rest of the period and took a 28-18 lead to halftime.
“We had some people step up and do the job,” Speicher said.
Second-Half Surge: The Cubs began to chip away at the Big Red lead in the third quarter, outscoring Plymouth 13-10. Marx scored scored six quick points to start the fourth to push the advantage to 44-32 before the Cubs made its final push. Lucas outscored Plymouth 10-1 during the final 4:17 of the fourth quarter.
“I was very pleased with the way the kept fighting,” Lucas coach Kathy Grover said. “We are starting to develop some chemistry.”
Lucas had a chance to pull within a point in the final 10 seconds, but misfired on a layup attempt after a steal. The Cubs were just 15 for 50 from the floor and 9 of 17 from the free throw line.
“We’ve struggled shooting the ball all season,” Grover said. “We’re trying to get some mental toughness. I tell the girls to keep shooting because the most important shot is the next shot. We need to forget our misses.
“We were forcing turnovers and looking for each other. That makes a huge difference in their frame of mind.”
Leaders: Freshman Emily Niswander led Lucas with 14 points, four steals and four assists. Maisey Granson scored 10 of her 12 points in the second half and grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds. Grace Spoerr added eight boards.
Addyson Horne had seven points for the Big Red.
“Addyson Horne is a competitor,” Speicher said. “She played 32 minutes tonight. She’s a leader and a coach on the floor for us.”
