Margaretta wins 8th straight SBC Bay title

CASTALIA — Ellyse Schafer has been a staple of the Margaretta girls basketball program during her four years in high school. Last week, she became the school's all-time leader in career 3-pointers made. She added to that total Thursday, knocking down two more to give her 139 for her career. Schaefer's 12 points helped propel Div. VI No. 2 Margaretta to a 65-28 win over Vermilion on Thursday, clinching a share of the Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division title for the eighth year in a row. Schaefer broke the mark of 135 made triples by Eden Palomo in a win over Edison. It's not the first time the Schaefer name has been attached to that record at Margaretta. "That record meant a lot to me," Schaefer said. "My sister, Elliana, held it before Eden did. I remember as a kid joking with her that I would break it easily, but never did I actually think I'd do it." Schaefer has been through the wars for the Polar Bears (16-1, 9-0 SBC Bay) under coach Ray Neill. She does a little bit of everything for Margaretta, but most focus goes to her outside shooting. "From the day she stepped in the doors here, she's been known for her perimeter shooting," Neill said. "It's a credit to her and her teammates. With the attention she gets on perimeter, for her to break Eden's record is very rewarding for her and her teammates." Ellyse's younger sister, Lanie, got the Polar Bears off and running against Vermilion. She scored and added a 3-pointer just over a minute in. Cassidy Lane tallied the next four points before Ellyse Schaefer's first triple. Kenadie Saylor scored to give Margaretta a 14-0 lead three minutes in. "The board in the locker room said compete, dominate and eat," Neill said. "I thought we came out and did all three of those early. We set the tone and got after it defensively. We shared the ball on offense and had a really, really good first half." Joscelyn Alvarado got the Sailors (9-9, 5-4) on the board, but Vermilion struggled to take care of the ball. Buckets from Ellyse Schaefer and Lanie Schaefer pushed the lead to 18-2. Addyson Fitzthum scored on a putback for a 22-5 edge. Vermilion had 10 turnovers in the first quarter. That led to 26 turnovers for the game. "We've been working a lot on defense," Ellyse Schaefer said. "We've changed it. At the beginning of the season, we let teams pressure us more. We've been trying to press more and let us control the game. We want to get in people's faces and make them uncomfortable." The Polar Bears kept rolling in the second quarter. Ellyse Schaefer canned a triple before Lane's three-point play put Margaretta up 31-9. After a bucket from Abby Gawry for Vermilion, Saylor scored, Fitzthum made two free throws and Lane made two free throws to extend the margin to 38-11. Later, tallies from Lane, Ashlyn Kingsborough and Lanie Schaefer made it 44-13. Renna Keller scored just before halftime to give Margaretta a 48-15 lead. By the break, the Polar Bears already had three girls in double figure scoring. "That speaks to the unity of the team," Neill said. "It's not I or me. It's us. What we saw tonight in regards to sharing the basketball is going on in here every night at practice. We applaud the girls for that." Margaretta needed less than 90 seconds into the third quarter to evoke the running clock. Neill was pleased with the effort he got from his bench players. Fitzthum had eight points and four rebounds while Kingsborough added seven points and four rebounds. Keller scored four points while Claire Conner and Tessa Lane each chipped in a bucket. "Kingsborough was really good for us coming off the bench tonight," Neill said. "Addy Fitzthum gives us some instant offense coming off the bench. Renna, for a puppy, she does a lot of good things." Gawry topped Vermilion with 11 rebounds while Morgan Frenk added eight points and eight rebounds. Margaretta has a chance to win the Bay title outright next Thursday when it travels to Willard (13-3, 7-1). The Polar Bears will take a 53-game league winning streak into Bob Haas Gymnasium for the contest against the Crimson Flashes. Neill was complimentary of the help he gets from assistant coaches like Corey Britton and Dan Hedberg. "It was a beginning of the season goal," Neill said. "It was nice to half-check it off. We're not happy with just a share of it. We want it outright. We still have work to be done." But first, Margaretta faces Div. VI No. 5 Columbus Grove (15-2) at Sunday's Tourney Tune-Up at Margaretta High School. Grove eliminated the Polar Bears in last year's regional semifinal round. "It's not only the team that took us out, but the team that won state," said Ellyse Schaefer of the Bulldogs going on to win the state championship last year. "I think this is a great statement for us to make. They're a Division VI team ranked in the top 10. I think we're excited and we want this game badly." VERMILION (9-9, 5-4) Jaz Rayl 1 0-0 2, Emma Gebhardt 0 0-0 0, Abby Gawry 5 0-1 11, Joscelyn Alvarado 1 3-4 5, Morgan Frenk 3 2-4 8, Sofia Schaffer 0 2-4 2. TOTALS 10 7-13 28 MARGARETTA (16-1, 9-0) Lillian Belak 0 1-2 1, Lanie Schaefer 4 1-2 10, Cassidy Lane 4 6-7 14, Ellyse Schaefer 5 0-0 12, Kenadie Saylor 2 1-2 5, Ashlyn Kingsborough 3 0-0 7, Addyson Fitzthum 2 4-4 8, Renna Keller 2 0-1 4, Claire Conner 1 0-0 2, Tessa Lane 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 24 13-18 65 Vermilion 9 6 6 7 — 28 Margaretta 25 23 11 6 — 65 Three-point goals: Vermilion 1 (Gawry); Margaretta 4 (E. Schaefer 2, L. Schaefer, Kingsborough)