Polar Bears edged by Whippets in fourth

SHELBY — Too many mistakes led to not enough opportunities. Margaretta trailed Shelby by just one point after three quarters Wednesday, but committed three turnovers before it even scored in the fourth quarter. The Polar Bears amassed six turnovers over the final eight minutes compared to just a single bucket, falling 43-32 to Shelby in non-league action. Margaretta (0-1) scored just the two points over the final 9:55 of the game. "The offense didn't go anywhere," Margaretta coach Ray Neill said. "We missed some shots we normally make. Shelby's aggressiveness got us playing a little too fast. We had numerous travel calls in the fourth quarter due to their pressure. "We have some young girls playing their first big varsity game," he added. "It showed a little bit to be honest." The Polar Bears went up 28-26 on a Lilly Edwards 3 with 2:42 to go in the third quarter. After Sarah Reiser answered for the Whippets (1-0) with a triple, a score by Edwards kept Margaretta up 30-29. But a baseline jumper from Lexi Mohn pushed Shelby ahead 31-30 after three quarters. She also nailed one to open the fourth quarter to make it 33-30. Cassidy Lane's putback with 4:16 to play kept the Polar Bears within a point, but it was the last hoop of the night for Margaretta. The Polar Bears made just one shot on 13 attempts in the fourth quarter. Shelby was able to speed Margaretta up and get easy transition buckets. Sophia Long made it 35-32 and after free two free throws by Alexis Booker, Mohn scored after an offensive rebound. "We got a couple nice steals and they had a couple turnovers that we were able to score on," Shelby coach Natalie Lantz said. "That opened it up a little bit. It never felt like enough because they're a great shooting team." It was 6-6 after one quarter. Shelby went up 14-9 following a triple by Mallary Gundrum, but the rest of the half belonged to Margaretta. A 3-point play by Ellyse Schaefer drew the Polar Bears within 14-12. After getting a few stops, Grace Paseka drilled a 3 and Raegan Heck scored at the buzzer to put Margaretta up 17-14 at halftime. "I thought in the first half, you saw a lot of first game jitters," Lantz said. "We looked too tense. I think we executed maybe one time on offense." Heck battled foul trouble throughout, often substituting offense for defense. She had three fouls 53 seconds into the second quarter and four fouls less than 90 seconds into the second half. "We got some things going with her in the second half and got her going downhill a little bit," Neill said. Shelby scored the first eight points of the second half before the Polar Bears settled in. A 3-point play by Schaefer tied it at 22 and a jumper a minute later by Julia Berg evened it at 24-all with 4:33 left in the third quarter. "Shelby played extremely hard and extremely confident," Neill said. "Offensively, they attacked the basket. They got us in foul trouble early. For the most part, they limited us to one shot on the boards too." Mohn topped Shelby with nine points while Long scored eight points. The Whippets were regional finalists two years ago in Division II. "Margaretta is a very, very good team," Lantz said. "They're going to go the distance this year and do really, really well. They're well-coached and great defensively and offensively." Schaefer's nine points and eight rebounds paced Margaretta. The Polar Bears made 11-of-39 shots and finished with 19 turnovers. "We lost some games early last year against really good competition, which Shelby is one of them," Neill said. "We'll look back on that and keep our heads high." Things don't get easier as Margaretta welcomes Division I Fremont Ross in Saturday night. "Let's hope we're that team that shows really good improvement from Game 1 to Game 2," Neill said. Margaretta 6-11-13-2 - 32Shelby 6-8-17-12 - 43 Margaretta (0-1): 11-39 FG, 6-8 FT, 4-13 3pt (Edwards, Palomo, Schaefer, Paseka), 29 rebounds (Schaefer 9), 19 turnovers. Scoring: Lilly Edwards 2 0-0 5, Eden Palomo 1 0-0 3, Cassidy Lane 2 0-0 4, Ellyse Schaefer 3 2-2 9, Raegan Heck 1 3-4 5, Julia Berg 1 0-0 2, Dani Grunden 0 1-2 1, Grace Paseka 1 0-0 3. Shelby (1-0): 14-35 FG, 10-14 FT, 5-12 3pt (Gundrum 3, Reiser, Mohn), 23 rebounds (Booker 5), 12 turnovers. Scoring: Charlie Niese 0 2-4 2, Mallary Gundrum 3 0-0 9, Serena Ramsey 1 0-0 2, Alexis Booker 1 3-3 5, Eve Schwemely 1 3-4 5, Maggie Bogner 0 0-1 0, Sarah Reiser 1 0-0 3, Sophia Long 3 2-2 8, Lexi Mohn 4 0-0 9.