SHELBY — It took a while, but Madison’s Molea Thompson finally figured out a way to slow down Mansfield Senior’s Naya Pender late in the second half of Wednesday night’s Shelby Rotary North Central Ohio All-Star Classic at Shelby High School.
All Thompson had to do was tackle her crosstown rival.
Pender and her Black squad teammates were in the midst of a game-deciding 16-2 run and looking to add to it when Thompson intervened. She wrapped her arms around Pender’s waist near midcourt to slow down — at least temporarily — a fast break opportunity.
The transgression went uncalled, but it didn’t change the outcome as the Black squad all-stars held on for an entertaining 88-84 win.
“That’s one of my best friends,” Thompson said through a wide smile as players mingled with fans and a handful of college scouts. “We play around like that all the time.
“I was just trying to bring a little excitement and a little fun to the game.”
Judging by all the smiles after the game, there was no shortage of fun or excitement as the senior showcase made its debut at Shelby.
“It was a great experience, being a part of the entire event and being able to coach and work with these kids for a couple of days,” said Shelby coach Natalie Lantz, who, along with Wynford’s Amy Taylor Sheldon, organized the event. “We were able to provide the opportunity (and) they get to come together and get rewarded for great high school careers.”
Leading 39-37 at the intermission, the Black squad came storming out of the locker room for the second half (the game featured two 20 minute halves). With Pender, Madison’s Fantasia Hood, Ontario’s Jayde Niss, Shelby’s Taylor Fulton and St. Peter’s Tiza Jones leading the way, the Black opened up a 56-41 advantage early in the second half.
The White squad stars, led by Thompson, Lexington’s Kelly Rhodes and the game’s Most Valuable Player Macey Sheerer of Bucyrus, responded with a 19-3 run and took a 60-59 lead on a Rhodes layup with 10:21 remaining.
“We dug ourselves a pretty big hole in the second half, but we got back into it,” said Rhodes, who scored eight points. “It was just a matter of getting a few shots to fall.”
The game see-sawed for two minutes before the Black squad took over. New London’s Kelly Norrod sparked the decisive run with a layup off an assist from St. Peter’s Jones. Shelby’s Fulton scored on an offensive rebound and putback, assisted on a layup by Ontario’s Niss and scored on a layup of her own off a Norrod assist. A Jones layup capped a remarkably fast 10-0 run for the Black for a 76-66 lead with 5:10 remaining in the game.
“With that much talent on the floor, there’s nobody you can’t give the ball to,” said Jones. “I was confident in everyone who had the ball. Everyone could shoot or drive it.”
The White squad trailed 82-70 with less than three minutes remaining, but made one final push to get within striking distance. A 3-pointer by Sheerer sparked a 12-4 run as the White closed the gap to 86-82 with less than 30 seconds remaining. A Jones layup off an assist by Madison’s Hood gave the Black squad an 88-82 lead with 14 seconds remaining, sealing the victory.
“We were going back and forth. With that much talent it’s hard to pull away,” said Hood, who connected on three 3-pointers and scored 12 points. “It was a lot of fun. I really like all the girls. They were all so nice and supportive.”
Hood and Thompson, Madison teammates, were on opposite sides Wednesday. The two had a running dialogue throughout the game.
“It was different. I wish she had been on my team, but I liked it,” Hood said. “We were talking a little bit. We like to joke around a lot.”
Thompson agreed.
“It was weird not having her on my team. I’m so used to driving and finding her on the perimeter because she is one of the best shooters in the area,” Thompson said. “I had some other shooters on my team, so I was trying to get everyone else involved.”
Thompson finished with 10 points, one of four White squad players in double figures.
Jones led a balanced Black squad attack with 14 points. Hood had 12 while Pender had 10. Six of the 10 Black squad players reached double figures. Niss and Fulton each had four.
“After playing against a lot of the girls for the last four years, it was nice to finally have them on my side,” Pender said. “We compete against each other all year and this was a time for us to finally come together and have some fun playing together.
“I’m not sure if I’m going to play college basketball, so if this was my last game it was a good way to end my career — with a win.”
Follow Curt Conrad on Twitter @curtjconrad.
