SHELBY — Respiratory illnesses are surging across the Buckeye State.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported that Ohio is among 19 U.S. states reporting high respiratory virus activity, according to cleveland.com.
Shelby dealt with its own share of illnesses Thursday night while hosting Lexington in a Division IV sectional final game. The Whippets fought off a fierce upset bid from Lady Lex, winning 56-50.
Ten days ago, Shelby sped past Lady Lex 61-24. Thursday’s game was a different story.
“I felt confident with the way that we practiced,” Shelby coach Natalie Lantz said of the week’s preparation.
“Then you get kids that come in tonight saying, ‘Coach, I’m sick,'” she said. “Then you start getting a little bit nervous because if you’re not composed, executing the way we should and not finishing the way we should, I felt like we looked a little out of it today.”
Several Whippets stepped up in a big way Thursday to help spread the load, including Braylee Sturts and Chloe Mahek, Lantz said.
“The girls played hard,” she said. “They always play hard and they always have each other’s backs, which I love.”
Shelby checking goals off list
The Whippets are hoping to carry success from the regular season into their tournament run.
This year, Shelby won its seventh straight MOAC championship and completed its first 20-win regular season for the first time since the 2021-2022 season — when the Whippets went 22-0.
A 71-64 win on Senior Night against Division I Olentangy Orange was the perfect spark to send the Whippets into tournament play.
“That was one of our goals from the regular season (20 wins),” Lantz said. “I’m proud of the way they stuck with it and told them they need to go straight home and get some rest.”
Senior Eve Schwemley led Shelby with 25 points Thursday, along with three rebounds and one assist.
Playing all 32 minutes, she said there were a few mental obstacles playing Lady Lex for the second time in 10 days.
“They’re still a good team and can play with us, which they did,” Schwemley said. “We definitely were a little antsy for our first tournament game. We missed quite a few wide open layups but we came back at it.”
One of Shelby’s eight seniors, Schwemley has experienced several successful seasons the past four years. This year has been no different.
“It’s really awesome,” she said. “I’m super proud of the girls and we’re going to keep working as much as we can to get better.”
Up next for second-seeded Shelby is No. 5 Clyde next Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Bucyrus High School.
Lexington at Shelby photo gallery:
Stover proud of Lady Lex program
Gabby Stover took over as head coach of Lexington girls basketball not far removed from her own playing days.
A former Ohio Cardinal Conference Player of the Year, she’s familiar with hard work — something she saw in action Thursday from Lady Lex.
“I couldn’t be more proud of what happened here tonight,” Stover said. “A few nights ago, we lost by almost 50 points to Shelby. To walk in here and lose by a few points, it’s incredible.”
Lady Lex trailed by only four points after eight minutes and eight by halftime. With less than a minute to play, Shelby’s lead was cut to six but Lex’s surge would end there.
Makaree Chapman, one of three Lex seniors, led her team with 28 points, to go with five rebounds and one assist.
Stover said this year’s seniors, which include Chapman, Avaia Francis and Rylee Frost, have changed Lady Lex basketball.
“I told them, ‘Emotions are temporary, but these memories are forever,'” she said. “They deserve to hold their heads high because they’ve done more for this program then they could ever know.”
(Below is the box score from Thursday’s sectional final game between Shelby and Lexington, courtesy of Bob Jarvis, Lexington basketball statistician.)
