MILAN — This time overtime wasn’t necessary.
Shelby’s sophomore sensations made sure of it.
Eve Schwemley and Trinity Baker combined for 31 points and 15 rebounds and the fourth-seeded Whippets pulled away late for a 58-45 win over No. 9 Lexington in the opening game of a Division II sectional semifinal doubleheader Thursday at Edison High School.
The teams met in mid-January and the Whippets needed a four-minute overtime session to dispatch Lady Lex 51-45.
“These kids are competitive,” Shelby coach Natalie Lantz said of her talented sophomore class. “The younger kids really did a good job of stepping up.
“I thought Trinity did a really nice job tonight and Eve continues to do a good job.”
The game was tied 12-12 after the first quarter before the Whippets began to separate late in the second period. Shelby nosed ahead 27-25 with less than three minutes showing in the half when Lady Lex misfired on three potential game-tying putback attempts. The Whippets seized the momentum to score the final five points of the period for a 32-25 halftime advantage.
“There was the one series where I about lost my mind,” Lantz said. “They got several offensive boards, but they never made it.
“We stayed after it, we got the ball and came down and scored.”
Shelby opened a 44-34 margin going to the fourth, but Lexington refused to go quietly. A layup by Kaitlyn Delano-Goodman with 6:29 remaining capped a quarter-opening 6-0 run by Lady Lex and cut Shelby’s gap to 44-40.
The Whippets outscored Lexington 14-5 the rest of the way. Lady Lex was held scoreless for the final 4:19.
“We came back within four,” Lexington coach Daryl Uhde said. “That’s the way the year has gone. We’d get down 10 or 12 and fight back.”
Schwemley led Shelby with 16 points and eight rebounds. Baker added 15 points and seven boards, while Audi Albert chipped in with 11 points and seven rebounds.
For Lexington, freshman Ava Brown led the way with 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Cora Palmer added nine points, while Madi Basilone had seven points and three assists.
“I’m happy with the kids,” Uhde said. “When you see them play as hard as they can and give it everything they have, I can accept that in a loss and we did that tonight.”
Shelby (18-5) will play sixth-seeded Port Clinton for a sectional title at 6 p.m. Saturday at Edison.
“Our goal is to get another sectional title and move on,” Lantz said. “Port Clinton is much-improved. They’ve definitely a good team and we’ve definitely got to be ready.”
