NANKIN – Mapleton brought indisputable grit into its girls basketball showdown Tuesday night with visiting New London, with intentions of finally slowing down the dynasty.
But in front of a packed, raucous crowd – and keyed by a crucial third-quarter burst from senior Valery Henry – the Wildcats bit back and held on late for a 47-40 win.
The outcome locked in New London’s third straight Firelands Conference title and stretched the squad’s unprecedented winning streak in FC games to 41 in a row.
“I knew how hard they were gonna get after it defensively, but our girls have been here before, and I think that’s senior leadership,” said 13th-year New London head coach Eric Mitchell, now 160-145 for his career. “(But Mapleton is) gonna be a juggernaut for some years to come, there’s no doubt about it.”
“This was amazing,” he added of the wall-to-wall crowd in attendance. “For girls to put this many butts in the stands on a Tuesday night. Wow. Kudos to Mapleton fans and New London fans – it was rockin’ in here.”
The Mounties (15-4, 10-2 FC) were the league’s best chance to knock the ‘Cats (17-3, 12-0) from their winning perch, and they had a promising 26-18 lead halfway through the third quarter.
But Henry took the controls from there, scoring 11 of her team-high 19 points in a stretch of less than four minutes.
The senior’s putback off her own missed 3-pointer with 2:13 to go in the third gave New London its first lead of the game at 27-26.
When standout Mapleton sophomore Addison Hess (team-high 19 points, 11 rebounds, three steals) scored on a putback to cut it to 31-30, Henry answered again with a momentum-swinging 3-pointer.
The Mounties never got closer than four points the rest of the way.
“We went on that great run at the beginning of the third quarter and I felt like after that we maybe got in a hurry offensively and forced some quick shots,” said ninth-year Mapleton head coach Matt Hess, now 114-101 after recently becoming the program’s all-time leader in wins.
“I think down towards the end of the game maybe experience won. Henry is a great player – probably an FC Player of the Year candidate.”
“That’s the stuff that you’ll remember, she took over that game,” Mitchell added of his senior, who he said was averaging roughly 11 points per game. “I knew she had it in her when she plays within herself and she did right there.”
New London ended up putting together a 29-14 advantage over the game’s final 12 minutes.
Senior guard Olivia Yetter tallied all nine of her points in that span, including a buzzer-beater to end the third and a 3-pointer early in the fourth.
Seniors Gracie Thomas and Raeann Mitchell chipped in seven points each and had key rebounds all night against the Mounties, who entered the game with hopes to put themselves in position for a share of their first FC crown since 1999.
Mapleton senior Audrey Hellickson netted 14 points – including a layup to cut it to 44-40 with 27 seconds left – but the Mounties couldn’t take full advantage of New London’s five fourth-quarter turnovers.
The hosts also were hindered by a shooting dry spell in the first half that saw them go without a field goal from the 5-minute mark in the opening quarter until 4:01 remained in the second.
Hess felt his squad could have built more of a bulky halftime lead. Instead, the Mounties had a slim, 17-16 advantage at the break.
“I thought we had a couple of opportunities in that second quarter to extend the lead,” he said. “Basketball’s a game of runs and I felt like we maybe didn’t extend ours over a couple of possessions like we could have.”
The seven-point defeat was as close as Mapleton has been to a win against the Wildcats during their reign atop the FC. The Mounties lost by 14 twice to NLHS last season, when their FC runner-up finish was their best since 1999.
Coach Hess said Tuesday was the closest, most intense game between the rivals he could remember in recent years.
“We’ve looked forward to that game since we played them last,” Hess said, “and I know it hurts right now but I told them what a learning experience it would be for them.”
Both teams battled foul trouble. With seven minutes left in the fourth quarter, nearly every single starter had at least three fouls.
But the Wildcats had a nine-point lead at that juncture and were able to hold off the hosts, despite multiple key shots from Hess, who also knocked down four 3-pointers in the game.
“Addison’s done a great job all year,” coach Hess said of his daughter, who entered Tuesday averaging 14.0 points, 8.1 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 4.3 steals per game. “She has the unique ability to do what it takes to win.”
The Mounties close out their regular season with three more home games, the first one coming Friday against Monroeville (5-13, 3-9 entering Tuesday).
Mapleton follows that with contests against Triway (13-5) on Feb. 11 and Crestview (11-7, 7-3) on Feb. 14.
The Mounties’ only four losses this season have come to New London, Norwayne (15-2, No. 7 in Division V on MaxPreps) and Elyria Catholic (13-4, No. 9 in Division IV).
New London, meanwhile, needs one more FC win to lock down its third straight outright title – something that hasn’t been done in the league since Western Reserve won five in a row from 2009 through 2013.
The Wildcats’ three losses were to Margaretta (17-1, No. 1 in Division VI), Norwayne and Colonel Crawford (16-2, No. 16 in Division VI).
Mitchell said Tuesday’s battle with Mapleton will pay dividends for his squad as it heads toward this weekend’s tournament draw.
“That’s a hell of a team and Matt does a great job with that crew,” Mitchell said. “They have nothing to hang their heads about; there ain’t a girl on either team that didn’t leave everything out here.”
