BELLVILLE — The Whippets were practically perfect.
Shelby shot a blistering 66 percent from the field and knocked down five 3-pointers en route to a resounding 70-38 win over Clear Fork in a battle of Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference unbeatens Tuesday inside Les Hauenstein Gymnasium.
The Whippets (7-1, 5-0) forced seven first-quarter turnovers and built a 19-11 lead. Shelby put it away with a 13-3 run to open the second quarter.
“I thought every kid who touched the floor tonight did a really great job of (attacking the basket),” Shelby coach Natalie Lantz said. “I thought we did a nice job of making one more (pass) until we got an open shot or layup.”
The Whippets were as stingy on defense as they were efficient at the offensive end. Clear Fork (7-2, 4-1) went more than five minutes without a field goal in the second quarter.
“We start with defense and then we try to make offense play off of that,” said junior forward Serena Ramsey, who scored six of her 10 points in the second quarter.
“Defense always comes first. If we play good defense, that leads to great offense.”
Shelby took a 36-18 advantage to the half and things only got worse for the Colts early in the third quarter.
The Whippets opened the second half with a 15-5 run and took a 51-23 lead on a Sarah Reiser jumper from the wing with 3:09 left in the period.
“I thought that they had a great game plan,” Clear Fork coach Scott Sellers said. “They just executed at a high level.
“They are a really good basketball team. They play super hard and … I just thought they played a really good game.”
Shelby led 59-31 after three quarters before taking its foot off the gas in the fourth. The Whippets still outscored the Colts 11-7 in the final period.
Eve Schwemley led the Whippets with 12 points. Alexis Booker matched Ramsey with 10 points, while Charlie Niese and Lexi Mohn each had eight.
Mel Blubaugh led Clear Fork with 11 points. Kylie Belcher and Brinley Barnett scored seven points apiece.
“I’m one of the coaches who, after a game, will give credit where credit is due,” Sellers said “It’s certainly due with Shelby. They played a wonderful game and they deserved to win.
“It’s one game. We’ll get better from it and go from there.”
Clear Fork travels to Highland on Friday while Shelby entertains Ontario. The Whippets have a one-game lead over Clear Fork and Pleasant as the midway point of conference play approaches.
“We knew it was going to be tough and right from the start we just had good energy,” Ramsey said. “I think that paid off during the game.”