INDIANAPOLIS — A 16-0 run that took nearly eight minutes of game time was too much for the Mt. Vernon Marauders to come back from in Saturday’s IHSAA Girls Basketball Regional 6 championship game at Decatur Central High School’s David “Doc” Rather Gymnasium.
The Marauders trailed just 14-10 with 4:38 remaining until halftime, but a foul on a three-point attempt, foul trouble to a top player, and struggles against the Ben Davis defensive pressure, led to a 16-0 Giants’ run.
After getting within four points, Mt. Vernon was held scoreless until the 5:08 mark of the third quarter, Ben Davis scored 16 straight during that time to lead 30-10. The Giants went on to defeat the Marauders 53-28.
Mt. Vernon ended its season with a 19-7 record. Ben Davis (18-9) will play Lawrence North at noon Saturday in the Southport Semi-State.
“I thought we hung in there in the beginning, but once (senior) Khloe (Patterson) got into foul trouble, that’s when they made their run before halftime. I had to sit her with three fouls. She is our athlete that can help break the press, get rebounds, and do whatever,” Mt. Vernon coach Julie Shelton said.
Junior Ellery Minch scored at the 4:38 mark of the second quarter to cut Ben Davis’s lead to 14-10. On the next possession Minch was called for a foul on a 3-point attempt by Ben Davis guard Kaleah Toomer. She hit all three free throws.
One minute later, Patterson was called for her third foul, and again, Toomer hit the free throws, two on this occasion. Toomer later scored off a steal and Zoe Wheeler hit a 3-pointer. A bucket by 5-foot-10 senior Taylor Guess ended the half to give BD a 26-10 lead.
The Marauders were held scoreless until two Patterson free throws with 5:08 to go in the third quarter.
“I think we were deflated, for us to come back from that deficit against (Ben Davis) was going to be tough,” Shelton added of the team’s final three to four minute stretch of the first half.
Minch led Mt. Vernon scoring with 16 points. Patterson finished with six.
Ben Davis had three players score in double figures. Wheeler led with 16. Guess had 14 and Toomer scored 13, all in the first half.
Mt. Vernon was coming off its third straight sectional championship, but it was definitely the most unlikely of the three.
After going 0-15 during the season, they were unbeaten Hoosier Heritage Conference champions prior to winning the sectional for a third straight time.
“I told them, we have made huge strides this year and accomplished more than I expected,” Shelton said. “It really reminds me of when we played Ben Davis five years ago and they beat us about this bad.
“I told them you have two choices. We’ve got a lot of kids back. You can make the same jump as we made this year from the summer to now and be able to compete in a regional next year, or we can be satisfied where we were this year. Hopefully, like five years ago, they’ll want to compete and continue to get better. We won a regional game the next year and came back and competed with Ben Davis last year. Hopefully this group can carry forward, feel what it’s like and be better.”
The team graduates only two seniors. Patterson and Samantha Mrnak, who played sparingly throughout the season, but received increased minutes during the postseason.
Patterson was a starter all year and logged a lot of minutes the past two seasons. She was a big key in the team exceeding expectations in the 2022-23 season.
“She’s going to be a huge loss,” Shelton said. “As far as an all-around player for us, she was our best. Energy, helping get the ball down the floor, a great rebounder, those are huge shoes to fill.”
“I am really proud of everyone, especially our seniors,” Minch added on the team. “I love them all. Our seniors really came to play (Saturday). I couldn’t be more proud of this team. We’ve come such a far way and I truly mean it when I say it, this has been my favorite team. It’s a good group.”
–
Ben Davis 53, Mt. Vernon 28
Ben Davis;12;14;21;6;—;53
Mt. Vernon;6;4;6;12;—;28
Ben Davis (18-9): Zoe Wheeler 6 0-0 16, Taylor Guess 5 4-4 14, Cristen Carter 3 0-5 6, Kaleah Toomer 4 5-5 13, Kirsten Clark 1 2-2 4, Hermoni Andrew 0 0-0 0, Maliya Turner 0 0-0 0, Scottlynn Johnson 0 0-0 0, Alonna Divine 0 0-0 0, Aubri Ingram 0 0-0 0, Nyla Sims 0 0-0 0, Jayla Jackson 0 0-0 0. Totals: 19 11-16 53.
Mt. Vernon (19-7): Ellery Minch 6 2-2 16, Easton Wampler 0 0-0 0, Khloe Patterson 1 4-5 6, Kanyonrae Kenny 1 1-4 4, Kaitlyn Laffey 0 2-2 2, Sam Mrnak 0 0-0 0, Reagan Britt 0 0-0 0. Totals: 8 9-13 28.
3-point goals: Ben Davis 4 (Wheeler 4); Mt. Vernon 3 (Minch 2, Kenny).
