Margaretta dominates Shelby, 56-24

SHELBY — Most coaches say statements are not made in November matchups. Margaretta downed Shelby 56-24 behind big performances from seniors Ellyse Schaefer and Cassidy Lane in Saturday's season opener between the two northern Ohio girls basketball heavyweights. "This is a big win for our program," Margaretta coach Ray Neill said. "We are on the road playing at one of the top programs in this part of the state and we came into their gym and won." Neill now has 800 career wins between his time at Perkins and Margaretta as a baseball and girls basketball coach. As a basketball coach, he improved his career record to 290-99. Neill is 510-205 as a baseball coach. "I have been around," said Neill regarding the milestone. "I have been fortunate to coach in a gymnasium and on a baseball diamond with some very talented young men and women. This milestone is more about those players and the great assistant coaches I have had than it is about me." In the first quarter, the Polar Bears (1-0) scored the game's first six points. Margaretta got a big first quarter from Lane, who finished with eight points and eight rebounds in the frame. The Polar Bears continued the onslaught, finishing the half on a 14-4 run behind the outside shooting of Schaefer to go into halftime up 28-6. "That is a team that beat us the last two years, actually," Schaefer said. "We knew coming in a lot of teams would focus on Cassidy, so me and Kenadie (Saylor) had to make plays to help our team win." Shelby (0-1) showed some fight in the third quarter, getting eight points from Chloe Mahek. Margaretta continued relying on Schaefer, who finished with a game-high 22 points. Schaefer made six of the eight 3-pointers she attempted while Lane started her season with a double-double of 15 points and 17 rebounds. "I thought offensively early we were rushing, but settled down as the game went on," Neill said. "I know Lillian (Belak) does not show up in the box score much, but she just does everything else well. She helped calm us down and get into the flow of things." Both squads knew that this game featured two teams that have their sights set on tournament runs come February and March. "That is a very excellent team," Shelby coach Natalie Lantz said. "They are a state championship-caliber program and I think my girls were rushing a lot. Margaretta has excellent players all over the floor." Lantz knew this was just a step on a journey for her young squad, which graduated eight seniors from a team that lost to eventual state champion Bellevue in a district final last year. The Whippets returned only 6.2 points per game, all from senior Natalie Kennard. Shelby travels to Norwalk on Saturday while facing local teams Bellevue (Jan. 27) and Perkins (Feb. 14) later this season. "It is the first game for kids in a bunch of new roles," Lantz said. "I told them we scored six points in the first half and 18 the second half. We will continue to get better and better as the season progresses." For the Polar Bears, this was just one game on a schedule filled with challenges and opportunities as the season goes on. The next challenge for Margaretta comes Saturday as it hosts Fremont Ross. "We will get back in the gym and focus on little things each and every practice," Neill said. MARGARETTA (1-0) Ashlyn Kingsborough 3 0-2 6, Thea Wybensinger 2 0-0 5, Cassidy Lane 5 5-6 15, Addyson Fitzthum 1 0-1 2, Ellyse Schaefer 8 0-0 22, Kenadie Saylor 3 0-2 6. TOTALS 22 5-11 56 SHELBY (0-1) Addy Erwin 1 1-2 3, Jordyn Thauvette 1 2-2 4, Braylee Sturts 0 1-2 1, Chloe Mahek 6 2-3 14. TOTALS 9 6-9 24 Margaretta 14 14 16 12 — 56Shelby 2 4 8 10 — 24 Three-point goals: Margaretta 7 (Schaefer 6, Wybensigner); Shelby 0