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Marion Local's Hanna Rose takes a 3-point shot over New Bremen's Ella Pape at the Nest on Thursday.
NEW BREMEN - Marion Local remained atop the girls Midwest Athletic Conference basketball standings with a 38-25 victory over New Bremen Thursday night at the Cardinal Gymnasium.
The Flyers (13-2, 6-0 MAC) used a variety of pressure defenses to force 22 New Bremen turnovers and limit the Cardinals to just about as many points - 25.
"We had a few breakdowns on defense, but overall we made the plays when we had to," Marion Local coach Beth Streib said. "We told the girls to try and pick up the pressure because we wanted to try and create some offense, especially in the second half because our offense wasn't really into a flow."
Defense dominated both ends of the floor with neither team able to create much momentum.
The Cardinals (6-8, 2-3 MAC) led 6-4 midway through the first quarter before the Flyers went on a 8-0 run to take a 12-6 lead. New Bremen's Chloe Homan cut the deficit in half with what would be the game's only made 3-point shot with two seconds left in the quarter.
The teams combined for 13 total points in the second quarter with Marion maintaining a 20-14 margin at halftime.
The turnovers continued to pile up in the second half for the Cardinals. The Flyers finally created separation when Jenna Knapke and Allison Dirksen combined for six unanswered points to give the visitors a 31-18 lead late in the third quarter.
New Bremen's Chloe Homan (30) and Marion Local's Chloe Ronnebaum (24) battle for the rebound.
"Their pressure bothered us, but it was just a few here, and a few there," New Bremen coach Andy Timmerman said. "We didn't have any terrible stretches. It was just every once in a while we gave them an easy basket offensively."
The fourth quarter featured a combined 12 points and New Bremen was unable to get the deficit into single digits the rest of the way.
"We turned the ball over 20-plus times, and when you do that it's going to be tough to win games, especially against a good solid team like that," Timmerman added.
Marion Local's Avae Unrast takes a shot as New Bremen's Marina Nelson defends at the Nest on Thursday.
Marion Local sophomore Avae Unrast was the game's only double-digit scorer with 11 points. New Bremen was paced by sophomore Marina Nelson with nine.
The Cardinals finished 1-of-12 from behind the arc, while the Flyers were 0-for-5.
"I thought defensively we did a good job," Timmerman added. "We played really good team defense, and I feel like that's been getting better the last couple games, and rebounding was a lot better today, so I see some positives from this game."
New Bremen faces a busy week on the road, traveling to Fort Loramie on Saturday, Jackson Center on Tuesday and St. Henry next Thursday.
Marion hosts St. Marys on Tuesday and Fort Recovery next Thursday. The Flyers will close out the MAC season against Parkway (5-0) and Coldwater (4-1).
"I think the key for us down the stretch is to continue to play good team defense," Streib said. "Like tonight, we didn't shoot the greatest, especially from the outside, and we can use that defense to carry over and create our offense for us."
