By Greg Gielczyk
LocalSportsJournal.com
SHELBY — Playing a conference rival on the road presents a challenge, regardless of what the records are, and that’s exactly what played out in Shelby on Thursday night when Mason County Central came calling.
With a partisan crowd cheering them on, the Tigers had the Spartans on the ropes until they rallied to force overtime and escaped with a 46-41 win in the West Michigan Conference Rivers Division game.
For the Spartans, it was their second straight win. The Tigers now have lost three in a row.
The Spartans were behind the entire game, but dug in defensively with increased ball pressure and took advantage of their superior height to get the game into extra time.
Mallory Miller made a shot at the end of regulation that kept the game going.
“She wasn’t at her best physically tonight, but she hit a clutch shot when we needed it most,” said Spartans coach Brian Beebe. “We didn’t lead for a second in regulation, but gutted out a road win. It wasn’t pretty, but we found a path to victory.”
The Spartans got an offensive rebound and Miller knocked down a 3-point shot on the other end to knot it up, 36-36, with 11 seconds left.
Consecutive baskets from Miller, Wren Nelson and Grace Weinert vaulted the Spartans into a 44-36 lead and then staved off the Tigers from there.
Shelby forged a 19-15 lead at the half, behind the play of Molli Schultz, who finished the night with a game-high 19 points. She also had six rebounds and three steals. Kendall Zaverl added 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists for Shelby.
Nelson topped the Spartans with 16 points, all but two coming in the second half, and she had 13 rebounds and five blocks. Miller also had 16 points.
The Spartans are now 14-4 overall and upped their conference record to 8-2. They host Brethren in non-conference action on Tuesday night.
Shelby fell to a 5-12 overall record and slipped to 3-8 in the conference. The Tigers host Montague in a conference crossover game Monday night.
