Clyde girls fall to tough Shelby squad

BUCYRUS — Clyde was hanging around. The fifth-seeded Fliers were within seven points late in the second quarter after forcing Shelby to play sloppy basketball. But, as quickly as Clyde was in the game, the second-seeded Whippets put the game away. The Fliers were on the wrong end of a 15-0 Shelby run, falling 62-34 in a Division IV district semifinal Wednesday at Bucyrus High School. "We've had that happen a couple times this season against teams that are really good," Clyde coach Blayze Behney said. "They make some shots and sometimes we don't find a way to respond. It's happened four or five times and it happens when you're young and learning to adjust." Clyde finishes the season 11-13. It was a season that struggled to get going due to injuries to multiple players. "It was definitely a positive season," Behney said. "The win total we improved, yes. But, I think basketball is bigger than win totals. I thought we came together as a program this year. Our girls got along better and we practiced harder. We had different beliefs and expectations and we were actually closer to meeting them this year. The Fliers trailed 18-12 after one quarter, but Shelby (22-2) pushed the lead to double-digits on buckets by Eve Schwemley and Serena Ramsey. Clyde fought back as Kenzlie Guhn hit two free throws and Kaite Shiets connected on a 3. That brought the Fliers within 26-19 with 2:17 left in the first half. Then the wheels fell off. The Whippets got consecutive scores from Chloe Mahek to make it 30-19 at the break. Schwemley hit a 3 and back-to-back buckets by Sophia Long extended the Clyde deficit to 37-19. "I think we just settled down," Shelby coach Natalie Lantz said. "We did a better job of taking care of the ball. The third quarter, we were a little more solid with fundamental and composed basketball." Shelby's run reached 15 straight points before a 3-pointer by Guhn ended Clyde's six-minute scoring drought. Kennedi Long added two free throws, but the Whippets used a 9-5 run the final 3:23 of the quarter to put the Fliers down 50-29 after three quarters. "It was like a snowball effect," Behney said. "Sometimes getting a score in basketball can be a millisecond of a rotation mishap and not being in the right spot. That's all it takes in basketball for a bucket to go in. It just happens. We have to find ways to adjust to that." Clyde was hurt throughout the night by turnovers. The Fliers finished with 16 turnovers with 10 of them coming in the first half. "Defensively, we forced some turnovers and were able to score on runs in transition," Lantz said. "We were able to kick it out for the 3-point shot. Those are the things you want to see." The Whippets outrebounded Clyde 35-23. Schwemley led Shelby with 23 points and 10 rebounds while Long added 14 points. "We zoned them in the first half with a 2-3 and said everyone else can shoot the ball but (Schwemley)," Behney said. "We were shaded towards her and we tried a 1-2-2 to mix it up. We went to a faceguard and even then, she's a great player. She made nice some cuts and backdoors." Shiets' 11 points topped Clyde. Guhn chipped in eight points for the Fliers. Abbie Rogish, Shiets and Long are the lone seniors for Clyde. "Katie has been monumental," Behney said. "Abbie and Kennedi are great teammates. They're not the most stellar athletes, but they've been great teammates. All of them have been great about helping young teammates out. That's huge for the development of our young kids. Seeing them from junior year to now, they've set a tone for the younger kids. "I really do think this program is headed in the right direction because of them." CLYDE (11-13)Taitum Jeffrey 0 1-2 1, Kelsey Ray 2 0-0 4, Katie Shiets 4 0-0 11, Kenzlie Guhn 2 2-2 8, Kennedi Long 0 3-4 3, Reese Daniel 2 0-0 5, Ember Andres 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 11 6-10 34 SHELBY (22-2)Charlie Niese 1 1-2 3, Sophia Long 6 2-2 14, Serena Ramsey 4 1-1 10, Eve Schwemley 9 2-4 23, Natalie Kennard 1 1-2 3, Chloe Mahek 3 0-1 6, Alyssa Booker 1 0-0 3. TOTALS 25 7-12 62 Clyde 12 7 10 5 — 34Shelby 18 12 20 12 — 62 Three-point goals: Clyde 6 (Shiets 3, Guhn 2, Daniel); Shelby 5 (Schwemley 3, Ramsey, Booker)