The Ovid-Elsie Lady Marauders historic season came to an end Tuesday night as the Frankenmuth Eagles defeated Ovid-Elsie, 55-37.  Frankenmuth (21-2) will advance to take on Saginaw Swan Valley Thursday night at Frankenmuth in the Regional Finals.  Swan Valley defeated Belding in the first semi-final game, 48-38.

Ovid-Elsie (21-2) came out with great intensity and energy and led 8 to 1 but after a Frankenmuth timeout, the Eagles would go on a a run of their own to lead 16-9 at the end of the first quarter.

"We came out with a lot of intensity and energy," said Head Coach Ryan Cunningham.  "We always have a goal of getting the other team to call a timeout within the first three minutes of the game or second half and we did that.  But, from there, they caught fire."

Frankenmuth would use a 20-7 second quarter surge to keep the Marauders at bay and build a 36-16 halftime lead behind some excellent outside shooting.  The Eagles connected on 5 of 7 from long range in the first half.

"We knew we couldn't give them any space because they will literally shoot from anywhere," said Cunningham.  "But you have to give them credit because they were knocking them down even when they were contested."

The third quarter saw the Marauders fight back and cut into the deficit but the third quarter would end in a a 13-13 draw.  Ovid-Elsie would outscore the Eagles 8-6 in the final stanza but it was too little too late.  The Marauders were able to contain the Eagles three-point shooting as Frankenmuth could only manage to make one out of their next nine attempts.

Ava Bates led the Marauders with 10 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals while Evalyn Cole added 9 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists.  Senior Caitlyn Walter added 8 points including two 3-pointers which eclipses her single season three-point record by two.  Walter's record now sits at 45 makes in a single season.  Senior Kaylee Hall also knocked down two triples for 6 points while senior Braylon Byrnes chipped in with two points and Hailee Campbell (4 rebounds) and Kiah Longoria each added a free throw to round out the scoring for Ovid-Elsie.

"Sometimes you just have to tip your cap to the better team and tonight the better team was Frankenmuth," said Cunningham.  "This doesn't take away from anything that we've accomplished this year.  We showed that we can play with just about anybody and these girls have nothing to hang their heads about."

Ovid-Elsie held a slight 22-21 rebound advantage but the Eagles were able to connect on nearly 55% of their field goal attempts compared to OE's shooting clip of 32.5%.  Ovid-Elsie was able to gather 7 steals on 14 Frankenmuth turnovers and handed out 12 assists on 13 made baskets.

A big thank you to seniors Braylon Byrnes, Kaylee Hall and Caitlyn Walter for all that they have contributed over their careers - these seniors will be missed.