In a battle of unbeaten teams Friday night, the Ovid-Elsie Lady Marauders would rise to the occasion and defeat the visiting New Lothrop Hornets, 53-46.  In a back-and-forth battle that would see the Lady Marauders lead by as many as 14 points, it came down to the final minutes and some clutch free-throw shooting.

"We would build a nice lead only to see New Lothrop battle back and cut the deficit in half and at one point cut it to three points," said Head Coach Ryan Cunningham.  "We did an excellent job managing some foul trouble and closing out the game at the free throw line."

Down the stretch, Ovid-Elsie would seal the win with made free throws by Francesca Giacobbe (2-2), Alyson Moore (2-2), and Hailee Campbell (2-2). Ovid-Elsie would connect on 12 of 16 tries from the charity stripe while New Lothrop hit 9 of 10.

"We talked before the game about how this would be a game of runs and we just needed to come away with the last run," added Cunningham.  "We didn't get rattled which is a sign of a veteran team and our leadership was outstanding."

Ava Bates had a game-high 16 points to go along with 4 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 assists, and 2 blocks while Braeden Tokar added 14 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists.  But it was the play of senior forward Hailee Campbell that Cunningham praised.

"She is one of the most selfless kids I've ever met," said Cunningham.  "She takes on the toughest defensive assignments and does whatever is asked of her to help our team win.  And a lot of times it goes unnoticed, but not tonight."

Campbell finished with 11 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 steals while playing almost all 32 minutes and a great deal of time spent defending New Lothrop's top scorer.

Senior Evalyn Cole finished with 7 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals while Giacobbe (2 rebounds) and Moore each added 2 points, and Ellyanna Carman (2 rebounds, 2 assists) a free throw to round out the Marauder scoring.

Ovid-Elsie collected 12 steals on 17 Hornet turnovers and handed out 12 assists on 18 made baskets.  OE shot over 54% from two-point range and added 5 made three-pointers.  The Lady Marauders also held a slight rebound advantage, 24-23.

The win moves Ovid-Elsie to 5-0 (3-0 MMAC) while New Lothrop drops to 3-1 (1-1 MMAC).  Next up for Ovid-Elsie will be Chesaning as they come to town for a matchup on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.