At New Lothrop Friday night, the Lady Marauders would improve to 10-1 on the season and 7-0 in the MMAC.  The win also gives Ovid-Elsie a two-game cushion over second place New Lothrop (7-4. 5-2 MMAC).

"We knew this was going to be a battle," said Head Coach Ryan Cunningham.  "New Lothrop is very good, they are well-coached, and it is always a tough place to play at."

Ovid-Elsie would claim the first quarter 14-3 but New Lothrop got hot from behind the arc in the second and outscored OE 18-7 in the second stanza to tie the game at 21 at the half.  Both teams scored nine points in the third stanza before Ovid-Elsie would close the game out with a 22-7 fourth-quarter run.

"We talked a lot about how this would be a game of runs and we needed to match their energy in their gym," added Cunningham.  "We felt that if we could keep things close, we could make that final push and we did."

Braeden Tokar (3 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals) and Evalyn Cole (4 assists, 5 steals) paced the Lady Marauders with 12 points each while Ava Bates added 9 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals.  Hailee Campbell played solid all the way around with 8 points and 5 rebounds, but it was her defense that drew accolades from Cunningham.

"We gave her the toughest assignment tonight and that was to try and slow down Wendling," noted Cunningham.  "She still had a good game but Hailee made her work for it."

But Ovid-Elsie was motivated in other ways tonight, Cunningham mentioned.  Not just because of the league showdown, but because of some of the locker room material that was found.

"Our kids found some inappropriate and degrading material in the locker room," Cunningham said.  "At first, it was hurtful but I believe it helped fuel our fire.  It was disappointing to see especially from a team we respect so much.  I wouldn't tolerate that stuff being displayed in our locker room, but in the end, we are going to rise above it and put it behind us."

Ellyanna Carman added 5 points for OE while Dannika Campbell chipped in with 4 points and Lily Bates 2 points to round out the Marauder scoring.

Ovid-Elsie shot 69% from the field on the night (3 for 5 behind the arc) and handed out 17 assists on 20 made baskets.  The Lady Marauders also collected 11 steals on 19 Hornet turnovers.  New Lothrop held a slight rebound advantage, 20-18.

Ovid-Elsie will take a break from league action next week as they welcome Morrice to town on Tuesday and Williamson on Thursday.