No. 1 Margaretta tips off tournament with 63-point win

CASTALIA — Margaretta began what it hopes will be a deep postseason run with a 3-pointer from Kenadie Saylor 12 seconds into its tournament opener Wednesday at the Iceberg. There were many more baskets for the Polar Bears, who looked the part of the top-ranked team in the state in Division VI while routing Monroeville 80-17. "We came out and competed hard," Margaretta coach Ray Neill said. "Shared the basketball. Played well." The Bears scored 53 points in the first half before cruising to a 63-point win under a running clock for the entire second half. Saylor — one of four Margaretta seniors playing their final game on their home court — scored 10 of her 14 points in the first quarter. "I was feeling strong, pretty confident," she said. "I just went out there and played hard." Senior center Cassidy Lane added 14 points and six rebounds. Senior starters Ellyse Schaefer (six points) and Lillian Belak (four points) also will be counted on in the coming weeks. Margaretta improved to 22-1 while winning its 14th straight game. "It's definitely sad because we know this is the last game of our careers at the Iceberg, but it's also a relief because we get to move on," Lane said. "We've gotta treat everyone with the same amount of respect as everyone else." The four seniors were cheered on during practice Tuesday during Senior Shot Day. "We line up from one end of the floor to the other and pass the ball back and forth," Neill said. "It ends up with me passing the ball to a senior on the other block and hopefully they make that shot. While that's going on, everyone's yelling and screaming." Lane and the other seniors all made their shots. "The senior normally goes to the right block and they have to make a layup at the end," Lane said. "All four seniors made it. It was a little nerve-wracking." There wasn't much suspense a night later. Margaretta made its first four shots and forced 32 turnovers by Monroeville, which had no seniors on its roster. The Eagles, seeded seventh in the district, finished 6-17. They hung around early and were within 20-9 on two Sophia Stieber free throws with 2:38 left in the first quarter. The Polar Bears responded by scoring the next 19 points. Saylor scored on a mini alley-oop pass from Schaefer to give Margaretta a 34-9 lead early in the second quarter. Margaretta took its starters out of the game with 2:20 left in the third quarter. "We took them off the floor all at the same time and they got their kudos for four years of hard work in this gym," Neill said. "Happy for them." All 11 players that suited up for Margaretta scored. Ellaynah Schaefer, a sophomore starter, finished with 10 points. Addyson Fitzhum came off the bench to score 10 points. Afterward, the four seniors hung out together as the Bears cut down their first net of the tournament. "It's very hard for us seniors because we've played together so long," Saylor said. "It feels good to go out with a win." Margaretta now turns its attention to the district tournament. Up next for the top-seeded Bears is sixth-seeded Lakota — which took the only bye in the seven-team district — at 6 p.m. next Wednesday at Fremont Ross High School. A win in that game would send the Bears to a district final next Saturday at Ross. "We're all really excited and we'll keep working and take practices and games seriously until we can be the best we can be," Lane said. MONROEVILLE (6-17) Payton Weilnau 1 0-0 2, Taylor Scheid 1 0-0 2, Sophia Stieber 1 3-3 5, Lilly Stein 2 0-0 6, Brooke Morman 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 6 3-3 17 MARGARETTA (22-1) Lillian Belak 2 0-0 4, Ellaynah Schaefer 4 0-0 10, Cassidy Lane 5 4-5 14, Elllyse Schaefer 1 3-3 6, Kenadie Saylor 6 1-2 14, Addyson Fitzhum 5 0-0 10, Renna Keller 2 0-0 6, Ashlyn Kingsborough 3 0-0 6, Tessa Lane 2 2-4 6, Claire Conner 1 0-0 2, Alyssa Reinbolt 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 32 10-14 80 Monroeville 9 2 4 2 — 17 Margaretta 30 23 13 14 — 80 Three-point goals: Monroeville 2 (Stein 2); Margaretta 6 (Ellaynah Schaefer, Keller 2, Ellyse Schaefer, Saylor)