Margaretta overcomes Clyde in tough road win

CLYDE — Margaretta was hovering offensively. The Polar Bears trailed at halftime and Clyde scored to open the third quarter. Margaretta then turned to its defense, shutting out the Fliers for over six minutes. That gave the Polar Bears' offense enough time to get going, ultimately picking up a 56-48 Sandusky Bay Conference crossover win Tuesday. "We played Shelby and we played Fremont Ross," Margaretta coach Ray Neill said. "Both of those teams are athletic and play hard. We told our girls that we were going to see that even a little bit more today. We took a little punch and we were able to adjust to it. We were able to get it done." After 10 turnovers in the first half, including six in the second quarter, Margaretta (3-0) had no turnovers in the third quarter. They had none in the fourth quarter until there was less than 90 seconds to play. "Big-time difference," Neill said. "We told the girls that if we could swing or skip the ball to the opposite side and make their defense adjust, we could get a good shot and maybe even a better shot than a good shot. We were able to get those open looks and on top of that, we were able to knock them down." Clyde coach Brian Heck was facing the school where he was an assistant coach at for the past three seasons. He said he enjoyed it as a competitor. "That is one of the best, if not thee best team, in the area," said Heck of Margaretta. "You have four seniors that have been down to Dayton before. If you think about it, those girls have been to the final four. They've been to regional championships. They've won conference championships. They've been in all of that realm." Ariah Farrar scored to give the Fliers (3-1) a 27-24 lead early in the third quarter. Cassidy Lane split two free throws and then scored for the Polar Bears. Ellyse Schaefer canned a 3 to give Margaretta a 30-27 lead. Kenadie Saylor scored for the Polar Bears before a 3 from Thea Wybensinger. Lane scored again to finish off the 13-0 run that lasted 6:05. Wybensinger got hot from the outside after a Taitum Jeffrey bucket stopped the Margaretta sprint. She made a triple to give Margaretta a 40-29 lead after three quarters. She then splashed in a 3 to open the fourth-quarter scoring. From there, Clyde was playing catch-up. The Fliers sliced within 47-36 after a triple from Kelsey Ray, but Saylor answered on the other end for the Polar Bears. Clyde got within 49-39, but Lane tallied a three-point play off an offensive rebound. "In today's basketball, someone that can play with their back to the basket is somewhat rare," said Neill of Lane. "We're fortunate enough to have that. We're fortunate to have players that can handle and pass it well enough to get her the ball down there." Schaefer led Margaretta with 18 points while Lane finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Wybensinger tallied 11 points. "Players win games," Neill said. "Coaches have a little part of the final product, but players win games. They sped us up in the first half and we got a little bit discombobulated. At halftime, we talked that we had to withstand their game play, their intensity and their effort. "We had to go out and match it the second half and do the things we're capable of doing." Margaretta led 7-2 early, but Clyde rallied to tie the game at 9. Margaretta went up 15-9, but the Fliers answered back. Jeffrey scored eight of the next 11 points to give Clyde a 20-15 edge. The teams tangled back and forth before the Polar Bears got within 25-24 at the half on two Lane free throws. "It's a huge step for changing the program," Heck said. "The girls need to believe they can compete. We were able Friday against Gibsonburg to prove that we could beat good teams — regional caliber teams. They're tremendously difficult to defend. They're tremendously difficult to score on. "We just took a huge step in the culture of this program to compete with anybody that steps in our gym." Margaretta is back in action Friday as it opens SBC Bay Division play at Port Clinton (3-0). "They made their adjustments," Heck said. "Give them credit. We made a couple adjustments, but you could tell fatigue was setting in during the third quarter. You could see the lactic acid was setting in our legs. We're battling injuries." Jeffrey finished with 20 points for the Fliers, who open Lake Division play Saturday at Bellevue (3-0). "We proved we can compete against state-level quality teams," Heck said. "Not just teams, but brands. We're facing a brand in Margaretta. Saturday, we're facing a brand. It's Bellevue. When you say it, you know it. When you say Margaretta, you know it. "We're facing that brand. We're trying to get that brand, too. We want to make a brand for ourself as well." MARGARETTA (3-0) Lillian Belak 0 0-0 0, Ellaynah Schaefer 1 2-2 4, Cassidy Lane 5 7-9 17, Ellyse Schaefer 5 4-4 18, Kenadie Saylor 2 0-0 4, Thea Wybensinger 3 2-2 11, Ashlyn Kingsborough 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 17 15-17 56 CLYDE (3-1) Annmarie Davis 2 1-2 5, Taitum Jeffrey 7 4-5 20, Kelsey Ray 5 0-0 14, Ariah Farrar 2 1-1 5, Ember Andres 1 0-0 2, Lillian Greenslade 0 2-2 2. TOTALS 17 8-10 48 Margaretta 15 9 16 16 — 56 Clyde 11 14 4 19 — 48 Three-point goals: Margaretta 7 (Elly. Schaefer 4, Wybensinger 3); Clyde 6 (Ray 4, Jeffrey 2)