The Ovid-Elsie Lady Marauders defeated the Chesaning Indians Friday night to capture its first District Title since 1984.  Ovid-Elsie (21-1) downed the Indians (16-6) 53-29 and will advance to Regional play Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. against Frankenmuth at Frankenmuth High School.

The Marauders used full court pressure to stymie the Chesaning offense and caused 25 turnovers which led to 18 Marauder steals.  By the end of the 1^st quarter, Ovid-Elsie held a commanding 14-2 advantage and followed it up with an 11-8 second quarter to lead 25-10 at half.

“We were happy with the way we got out of the gates even though we had a little bit of foul trouble to deal with,” said Head Coach Ryan Cunningham. “But we also knew that Chesaning is a tough team and we needed to refocus because we didn’t want to see them mount a comeback.”

Chesaning held serve a little better in the second half but Ovid-Elsie still held a 16-9 third quarter advantage and a 12-10 fourth quarter advantage.  The Marauders led by as many as 26 points and never trailed during the game.

Evalyn Cole paced the Marauders with 14 points, 4 assists, and 5 steals while Caitlyn Walter scored 12 points and 4 rebounds.  The senior sharp shooter connected on two 3-pointers, tying her own single season record of 43 makes.  Kiah Longoria (6 rebounds, 5 steals, 5 assists) and Hailee Campbell (4 rebounds, 2 steals) each added 8 points while Ava Bates chipped in with 7 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists.  Braylon Byrnes rounded out the OE scoring with 4 points.

Ovid-Elsie handed out 16 assists on 23 made baskets and out-rebounded Chesaning 29-21.  The Marauders shot 46% from the field while holding the Indians to just under 31%.