SHELBY — The race isn’t won yet, but the finish line is in sight and Clear Fork owns a commanding lead.

Brinley Barnett scored nine of her game-high 15 points in the second half and the Colts tightened their stranglehold on the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference title with a 65-42 win over Shelby on Thursday.

Clear Fork (14-2, 11-0) owns a two-game lead over Shelby (10-6, 9-2) with three MOAC games remaining.

The Whippets have won seven straight titles since joining the MOAC in 2018. Shelby’s conference winning percentage during that remarkable run is .947 (89-5).

“It’s unbelievable what Shelby has done,” Clear Fork coach Scott Sellers said. “If we hang on here it will be our first (conference crown) since 2004. That’s how hard it is.

“They’ve just dominated the league for so long. We wouldn’t be where we’re at as a program without Shelby basketball.”

Second-Quarter Surge

The Colts led 16-12 after the first quarter, but the Whippets tied it at 16-16 on a Braylee Sturts layup with 6:42 to play in the half.

Clear Fork responded with a 15-4 run to close out the half and take a 31-20 advantage to the locker room.

“We knew we would were going to figure it out,” said senior guard Eliana Pelkey, who scored all 12 of her points in the second half. “We knew what we were doing wrong so we were able to adjust.”

Taking Charge

Clear Fork, which has been a strong third-quarter team all season, outscored Shelby 15-4 to take command. Pelkey had two conventional three-point plays in the period.

“We played pretty well in the third quarter,” Sellers said. “Shelby plays so hard. They made everything so difficult for us.

“We rely on spurts and we got one at the right time and it gave us the cushion that we needed.”

Junior sharpshooter Asia Bechtel joined Barnett and Pelkey in double figures with 14. The knocked down four 3-pointers.

Freshman Millie Chamberlain and Ashtyn Wine each added seven. Ava Bocci, the MOAC’s second-leading scorer, had six.

“We’ve gotten contributions from a lot of people all year,” Sellers said. “I believe you have to have a great point guard and we do in Brinley Barnett. She’s the best point guard I’ve ever coached.

“We’ve got a great scorer in Ava Bocci and we’ve got a lot of great role players.”

Youth Movement

The Whippets have six freshmen on the roster. Juniors Chloe Mahek and Sturts led Shelby with 13 and 10, respectively. 

“I’m so proud of them,” Shelby coach Natalie Lantz said. “We played hard, but we hurt ourselves.”