Tusky Valley girls 'dug down' to get win vs. Marlington
ZOARVILLE — Talented Tusky Valley’s girls’ basketball team overcame a determined effort from upset-minded Marlington to turn back the Dukes 36-31 in non-league action Saturday on the Trojans’ court.
“It was a great game today, and our kids definitely dug down when they needed to,” said Tusky Valley head coach Matthew Ward, whose team rallied in the fourth quarter to improve to 9-1 on the season.
“Down the stretch we kind of ran out of a little gas and missed some shots, but I can’t complain, we held a really good team under 40 points,” said Marlington head coach Mike Stadulis of his team’s spirited effort.
The Trojans trailed 28-25 entering the fourth quarter and were behind by as many as five points (30-25) with 6:24 left, but outscored Marlington 11-1 in the remaining time. Tusky Valley took the lead for good on a 3-pointer with 3:32 left, giving the hosts a 32-31 advantage.
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The Trojans were led by 5-foot-7 junior guard Leah Bourquin, who took game-scoring honors with 16 points, with many coming at crunch time in the fourth quarter. Teammates Locie Levengood and Kaleigh Norris added six points apiece and Elli Wallick finished with five markers.
“I thought on the offensive end that Leah Bourquin gave us a spark,” Ward said. “She was in attack mode, and it was a collection of girls that did a good job on (Marlington star Chelsea) Evanich, but (senior center) Sally Ray stepped up. She was gassed at a few points in the game, but she is someone that really stepped up. We can play a certain way defensively because of how good she is defensively, and she was really able to take on that challenge today.”
Tusky Valley has now won five games in a row and overcame a big challenge from Marlington, a member of the rugged Eastern Buckeye Conference in which four of its six members qualified for the district tournament last season. The Dukes led 21-17 at halftime and held from a one-to-five-point advantage throughout the third quarter.
But all that changed in the fourth quarter when the Trojans outscored the Dukes 11-3.
“I thought in the second half we changed up how we wanted to apply the pressure and I thought our kids did a really good job of recognizing the right time to apply a little bit more and a time to back off,” Ward said. “I just felt like we played at more of our pace in the second half.”
The Trojans will host John Glenn Wednesday evening in an independent contest.
“It’s the first time we’ve ever played them,” said Ward of John Glenn. “It’s going to be a good challenge because they’re a very good team.”
MARLINGTON (4-8): Zoe Mort 2 0-0 6, Mahlen Lambdin 3 0-0 7, Allie Gill 4 0-0 9, Ava Clough 0 0-0 0, Maddie Gill 0 0-0 0, Chelsea Evanich 1 7-8 9, Roslyn McCarty 0 0-0 0. Totals: 10 7-11 31.
TUSKY VALLEY (9-1): Elli Wallick 1 2-2 5, Chloe Salapack 0 0-0 0, Sally Ray 1 1-4 3, Leah Bourquin 5 5-10 16, Locie Levengood 2 0-0 6, Maleah Dillon 0 0-0 0, Kaleigh Norris 2 0-0 6, Sydney Miller 0 0-0 0, Riley Sites 0 0-0 0. Totals: 11 8-16 36.
Marlington 9-12-7-3—31
Tusky Valley 11-6-8-11—36
3-point goals: Marlington 4 (Zoe Mort 2, Mahlen Lambdin 1, Allie Gill 1). Tusky Valley 6 (Elli Wallick 1, Locie Levengood 2, Kaleigh Norris 2, Leah Bourquin 1). Total fouls: Marlington 12, Tusky Valley 8. Fouled out: Mahlen Lambdin. JV: Tusky Valley 40, Marlington 11
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Tusky Valley basketball turns back Marlington in non-league victory
