The Marion County R-II girls basketball team defeated North Shelby, 57-52, in front of a season opening home crowd last Tuesday.
The Lady Mustangs jumped out to a 15-9 lead and enjoyed a seven-point halftime advantage before the Lady Raiders went on a 15-6 run to go into the final period up by two.
Marion County answered with a 22-15 run down the stretch to secure the victory.
The Lady Mustangs made just seven two-pointers but did their damage from behind the arc and the free throw line.
Olivia Wood, Halle Keilholz and Delaney Straus sank three three-pointers each and the team drew 21 fouls and took advantage of them to go 16 for 26 from the line.
Wood sank eight of 12 from the line en route to a game-high 17 points, while Straus and Keilholz finished with 11 each.
Also scoring were Madison Stewart, nine, Riley Donath, five, and Tristen Holt, four.
The Mustangs did not play a game since North Shelby was short of players due to the football team still playing in the state playoffs.
This week, both teams were scheduled to take to the road with games at Community, Tuesday, and Bevier, Thursday.
The third-seeded Lady Mustangs will open the Monroe City Tournament at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 7, against sixth-seeded Mark Twain.
The eighth-seeded Mustangs will play top-seeded Monroe City at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 7.
2021-22 Lady
Mustang
Basketball Schedule
11/23 N. Shelby W 57-52, 1-0
11/30 at Community
12/2 at Bevier
12/14 at Higbee
12/16 Madison
12/20 LaPlata
1/4 at Brashear
1/7 Novinger
1/10 at Wells-Mid.
1/11 Macon County
1/25 at Atlanta
1/28 at Mark Twain
1/31 Scotland County
2/1 Paris
2/5 at Silex
2/7-12 Brashear Tourn.
2/15 at Canton
2/17 South Shelby
