ORWELL – The Mapleton girls basketball team has found its offensive groove at the perfect time.
Five nights after throttling McDonald 66-32 for a Division VI sectional title, the 11th-seeded Mounties stormed past sixth-seeded Grand Valley 67-48 on Tuesday night behind a career outing from Audrey Hellickson.
The Mounties (19-5) scored more than 60 points just once in the regular season, but now have themselves just a win away from the Sweet 16.
They’ll challenge second-seeded Canton Central Catholic (19-5) on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Girard for a district championship.
On Tuesday, Mapleton outscored the Mustangs 19-8 in the second quarter and never let go of the lead from there.
“We got into a little foul trouble there in the first quarter,” Mapleton head coach Matt Hess said. “We needed to slow the pace down, so we took off the press in the second quarter and started to value the possession at the offensive end and made the extra pass and got some great looks.
“I think our defense and toughness in that second quarter set the tone for the rest of the game.”
Hellickson, a senior guard who missed last season due to injury, was a scoring dynamo, dropping in 14 of her career-high 32 points in the third quarter.
It was one of the top scoring games in MHS history, as she finished with 13 of Mapleton’s 25 field goals in the win.
“She stepped up in huge ways tonight offensively and defensively,” Hess said. “That was just a senior not wanting tonight to be her last game.
“She kinda took the team on her back for a portion of the game.”
Mounties sophomore Addison Hess had some huge baskets in the critical second quarter, when she totaled nine of her 17 points. She finished the night with nine assists as well.
Junior guard Cloe Turk tried to keep Grand Valley in the game, netting 10 of her team-high 25 points in the third, but the Mustangs couldn’t keep up on the scoreboard.
“Grand Valley’s a good team right now and they’re gonna be good for the next couple years,” coach Hess said. “They don’t have a senior on the roster.”
Hess credited his squad’s balanced defensive effort in the victory.
Senior guard Kendall Ramey took multiple charges and Hess lauded sophomores Kenzie Hellickson (10 points) and Payten Frye, as well as freshman Khloe Hardesty (six points), for their defense.
The outcome gave Mapleton 19 wins in a season for just the second time since 1994. But the Mounties will have their hands full if they want to get to 20 on Saturday – their first district championship appearance in 11 years.
Canton Central Catholic made the regional semifinals a year ago and has a schedule featuring many larger schools. The Crusaders, ranked No. 16 in Division VI by MaxPreps, were a 56-30 winner Tuesday over 18th-seeded Kirtland.
“They’re experienced and they’ve been here in this situation before,” Hess said. “They’ve been a regional team for several years, so we’ll go to work on (researching) them tonight.”