MOUNT VERNON – When Doug Savage’s team entered quarantine earlier this month, he feared the worst.
Along with his players’ health and well-being, Savage was concerned about their ability to stay motivated during the 14-day break. Mount Vernon was unable to practice, or hold any team functions, during that time. Seven games were either postponed or canceled as a result.
“I thought, ‘Man, after this quarantine … maybe they’ve figured out that staying home and doing nothing ain’t all that bad,’” he said with a smile. “I thought they might come back and just (have) no pizazz at all.”
But the Yellow Jackets’ first practices back this week quelled those fears. As it turns out, he said, the quarantine period seemed to have the opposite effect.
“I don’t know whether the kids missed it more than maybe they thought they might miss it – you know, sometimes you never know how good something is until you don’t have it. It’s human nature. But they came back and had three of the best practices we’ve had all year,” Savage said. “I mean, it was really good. They were excited to be here again.”
It was this energy – this renewed focus – that spurred Mount Vernon to its fourth Ohio Cardinal Conference win of the season on Thursday. The Yellow Jackets (5-6, 4-3 OCC) used stingy defense and clutch late-game scoring to beat Madison Comprehensive (1-4, 0-2), 39-38, in their first game since Jan. 11.
“It was an intense battle, wasn’t it?” Savage said afterwards, cracking a grin. “It was intense.”
Trailing 33-31 heading into the fourth quarter, Mount Vernon hung tough. Senior Stella Bainbridge nailed a corner three with 4:52 remaining that put the Jackets up 37-35.
But the offense would stall as Madison’s defense tightened down the stretch. Mount Vernon’s next bucket wouldn’t come until the final minute of the game.
Madison, meanwhile, found hope in its 6-foot-1 center, Faith Kuhn. The junior scored 8 of her 12 points in the second half, including a turnaround hook shot that tied the game at 37 with 3:49 left.
That’s when Mount Vernon’s game-saving defense kicked in. McKenna Brokaw led the way.
The junior blocked two shots in the final three minutes of the game, and drew a momentum-shifting charge in transition that prevented a go-ahead Madison bucket.
“She’s a legitimate shot-blocker and she contests (shots),” Savage said of Brokaw. “And she’s not really – I mean, she’s what, 5’9”? It’s not like she’s 6-foot or anything. But she has very good timing on her shot blocks. And most of the time, she does not foul when she blocks shots, either.”
After Madison’s Chesney Davis drilled a free throw, giving the Rams a 38-37 lead with 1:02 remaining, Mount Vernon charged desperately up the court. Time was slipping away. Fortunately for the Yellow Jackets, senior Lexi Shaffer had the ball in her hands.
After several passes around the perimeter, Shaffer received the ball on the wing. She drove baseline, past two defenders, and for the first time in what seemed like ages, a scoring opportunity emerged. Olivia Reddy found herself wide open under the basket, with Madison’s help running late.
Shaffer bounced the ball to Reddy in between two defenders, and the junior flipped it in off the glass to give Mount Vernon a one-point lead with 42 seconds left.
“We definitely had a good take down there, and then the pass to Lexi, she had two guards on her and she made a beautiful drive to the basket,” Reddy recalled afterwards. “She made a beautiful pass and I was just able to finish there.”
The game was far from over. Madison’s Taylor Russell missed a three, but Brokaw missed the ensuing free throw, giving the ball back to the Rams with 8 seconds remaining.
Davis drove the length of the court and was fouled by Cora Lepley, putting the Madison senior on the free-throw line with 3 seconds left. But her free-throw rimmed out, and Davis’ last-second heave rattled off the cylinder as time expired.
Shaffer, Brokaw and the rest of the Jackets sprinted to the sideline to high-five Savage, who beamed ear-to-ear amid the celebration.
“It’s a fun group to work with, they really are,” said Savage, in his eighth year as head coach. “We’re not the greatest basketball team you’ve ever seen, I know that. But they’re fun to work with. They try; they battle.”
The game was close throughout, featuring dozens of lead changes and momentum swings. Madison led 13-12 after the first quarter, but Mount Vernon powered back to take a 24-21 halftime lead. The Rams regained the advantage, 33-31, heading into the final stanza.
Mount Vernon was led Thursday by Brokaw, who scored 14 points. Seven other Yellow Jackets scored, including Bainbridge (8 points) and Reddy (7 points). Davis had a game-high 19 points for Madison, and Kuhn contributed 12.
Perhaps no team regionally has been more impacted by COVID-19 than Madison, which has experienced four separate quarantine periods since the season began, according to head coach Brian Davis. Over the last two months, the Rams have had four practices and three games, Davis said.
Madison’s struggles down the stretch Thursday were symptomatic of that.
“We just tell them to come out and play like it’s summer league. You’ve gotta come out and scrap and get better every day. Because obviously, we’re not gonna have that much time to put much of an offense or anything together over the course of the next couple of weeks,” Davis said.
“We’ve got a freshman in the rotation … We’ve got a girl we’re trying to get some experience playing point guard, and we’re gonna make some mistakes. And unfortunately, a couple came at some pretty (critical) junctures. But at the end of the day, they gave it their best effort.”
The process of constantly coming in and out of quarantine has been draining, Davis said, for his staff and players. The team has struggled to develop as a result.
“There’s nothing even to say. The girls are so mentally drained, and then coming back, it’s just – you can’t put it into words. There’s nothing you can say. I just feel horrible for the girls …” Davis said. “Practice is gonna be at a minimum, and then when you do have practice … you can’t really work all that super hard before a game.”
Madison will play seven games over the next two weeks, Davis said, in an effort to make up for lost time.
“Every game is just another opportunity to get better for the tournament,” he said.
Mount Vernon, meanwhile, has experienced two quarantine periods this winter. While Reddy said the process has been challenging, she believes the Jackets have made the most of their time on the court.
“Not practicing a lot has been difficult …” she said. “(But) when we’re in here, we work really hard and we’re able to get back to where we left off. We just go out and try our best, and it’s working for us.”
The Yellow Jackets will play five league games in the next two weeks, including a home matchup with OCC-leading West Holmes on Saturday. Having completed the season-sweep of Madison on Thursday (they beat the Rams on their place on Jan. 11, 51-44), Mount Vernon will now focus on avenging losses it suffered through the first round of conference play.
“We’re definitely going to try to keep up this momentum, keep the wins coming, and we’re just gonna keep working hard,” Reddy said. “We are just gonna try to get closer to winning the league.”
The Yellow Jackets lost to Mansfield Senior (4-3 OCC) by 2 points on Dec. 30. The two teams are currently tied for second place in the OCC, and will play each other again at Mount Vernon on Feb. 13.
“If we can somehow get to second by ourselves,” Savage said, “that would be a pretty good accomplishment.”
