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St. Henry's Karlee Buschur (15) fights for a rebound with Marion Local's Kiley Schoenlein (30) and Mya Eckstein (22).
ST. HENRY - Winning 16 games in a row is tough, especially when you find yourself losing multiple times against a fierce rival. However, not every team is St. Henry, who used a second half surge to get past Marion Local 54-48 at Redskin gymnasium Thursday night to improve to 16-0 on the year.
"We had a whole bunch of people here. We had our bake sale so it was a different atmosphere tonight," St. Henry coach Nathan Uhlenhake said postgame. "We had to settle in a little bit after that."
The win keeps the Redskins clear on top of the Midwest Athletic Conference with a perfect 7-0 record. It also means St. Henry is a perfect 2-0 against the Flyers on the year, after the Dec. 27 Battle of 119 finished 44-22 in favor of the Redskins.
The game could not have started much better for Marion Local, as Kate Ashman scored five of her 14 points in the first as the team held an 11-7 lead after the opening frame. The lead was in large part due to St. Henry's six turnovers in the quarter, which meant Karlee Buschur's opening trey was the only field goal of the quarter. Morgan Baumer added six points from the line, while no other Redskin scored.
The second quarter saw the Flyers take a double-digit lead, but St. Henry was able to battle back. Marion led 21-11 after a Mya Eckstein put back with 3:38 left and forced a timeout from the Redskins. Kate Ashman poured two more points onto the lead the following Flyers' possession, and it was 23-11 with two minutes to go in the half.
That is when St. Henry started to figure things out on offense. Inside shots from the trio of Ava Homan, Karlee Buschur and Morgan Baumer trimmed the deficit to 23-17 with under a minute left. Those three were all in double figures by game's end, with Baumer and Buschur scoring 15 each, while Homan led the team with 16.
St. Henry's Morgan Baumer (3) goes up for a shot against Marion Local.
"That's how we play, that's our team. On any given night we have girls step up and tonight was no different, it was awesome to see," Uhlenhake said of the trio.
A buzzer-beating corner sent the home fans into the break with a belief. While Marion was in front 25-20, the 9-2 run by the hosts made it all to play for in the second half.
"We had to step up and make a run down 10," Uhlenhake said of the late push. "We hit a layup and then we got a three, and that gave us a little momentum going into the half, and we were able to fix some things."
The Flyers had five turnovers in the second quarter alone, with two in the final minute. It left the door open, and St. Henry was all-too-willing to step into the house of victory.
Molly Wendel opened the second half with a powerful inside move to make it a one possession game at 25-22 one minute in. Marion was not fazed, however, and Ashman's three from the corner made it a 31-23 game three minutes later. Once again, St. Henry needed to claw back.
It began with a trey from Karlee Buschur in the corner to make it a 31-26 game. Ava Homan's post shot was true the next possession, and Marion called timeout at 31-28. It breathed life back into a now loud Redskin gymnasium, in part due to a section of screaming kids near the St. Henry bench.
Marion Local's Emersyn Mescher (23) drives against St. Henry's Addy Homan (10).
The teams traded baskets, and eventually Ava Homan put the hosts in front 36-35 on a pair of free-throws to end the third quarter. It was the first St. Henry lead since it led 5-3 three minutes into the game.
Through all the hype of the first three quarters, the fourth was just as intense. Homan nailed a three to open the quarter, but a response from Kiley Schoenlein was true and the score sat at 39-38.
Karlee Buschur made it a five-point lead on a transition layup a few minutes later, but Marion cut it back to 45-44 after Clara Bruns' layup found the bottom of the net. The freshman finished the quarter with eight points, and was a co-team-lead with 14 points in the game.
Kalyn Thobe put the Flyers on top 46-45, but it was the last time the Flyers led. St. Henry ended the contest on a 9-2 run, highlight by six points from Baumer, and took home the six-point victory.
Marion had fought hard and kept up when it needed, but it turned into St. Henry's night as the game progressed. While Marion won the rebound and turnover battle, the Redskins were the ultimate opportunists.
"I'm not going to doubt my girls effort at all," Marion Local coach Beth Streib said. "They played hard. They responded and came out with a fight, that's all I can ask for."
Both teams look toward Western Buckeye League teams, as St. Henry will try for 17-0 on a road trip to St. Marys on Feb. 2. Marion will look to rebound Saturday in a game against Celina at The Hangar.
