UL Has No Trouble With John Marshall
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MOUNDSVILLE -- Union Local found itself in a precarious situation Wednesday evening inside the Moundsville Fieldhouse.
Fresh off a decisive victory in the OVAC 4A championship game on Saturday and with the first round of the Ohio Division III sectional tournament lurking this Saturday, head coach Scooter Tolzda was a bit concerned.
The Jets players clearly were unfazed. They put forth a balanced effort and used a strong second half to blow open the game en route to a 70-39 rout of the Monarchs.
"Coming off the OVAC, you have to think, 'are we going to be ready to play?" Tolzda said. "I thought we made some mistakes in the first half, but give John Marshall credit because they have some good, young pieces who are only going to get better. I thought we played a lot better in the second half."
John Marshall trailed by 12 in the early moments of the third quarter. From that point on, however, it was all Union Local.
The Jets closed the third by scoring the final 11, which included a big trey from Emily Kellaway, who proved to be a thorn in the Monarchs side time and time again, especially in the second half.
However, it wasn't Kellaway's scoring. That was her only field goal in the first three periods, but she brought boundless energy on the defensive end, was active on the glass and distributed the ball well to the likes of junior scorers Torre Kildow and Reagan Vinskovich.
"Kellaway was a back breaker for us," JM head coach Brock Melko said. "Obviously, we know about Kildow and Vinskovich. They were our main focus. But, everything that Kellaway did was a backbreaker. When you have two players like they have, you're pretty much exhausting four of five defenders to cover two, so when the other girls make shots, it's really tough."
Indeed.
The run that started in the third actually didn't stop until Tolzda emptied his bench. All told, Union Local scored 22 of 24 points in the game.
"We got a lot of contributions from people in the second half after we settled down," Tolzda said. "I thought we were rushing some shots in the first half. I liked the way Emmy played in the second half. It was a good performance by everyone."
The Jets were led by Kildow, who continued to play at a high level. She poured in 20 points with 17 of those coming in the first half. Vinskovich was once again effective on the interior with 16 points, including 11 in the second half.
Senior Hannah Merritt was steady with 14 points, while sophomore Lauren Miller came off the bench to score nine.
John Marshall (9-10) was led by Kaitlyn Blake's 14 points. Three other JM players - Catherine Hunnell, Landyn Helms and Lilie Babiczuk - evenly divided 24.
The Jets finished their regular season at 19-3 and will set their sights on the tournament, which begins against Buckeye Local on Saturday in Morristown.
"It's a 32-minute season at this point," Tolzda said. "We have high aspirations, but we know nothing is going to given to us. High school tournament basketball is as exciting as anything and when you have a chance, it makes it even more exciting."