The Ovid-Elsie Lady Marauders improved to 2-0 with a 50-29 win over the visiting Bath Bees (0-1) Thursday night.  Ovid-Elsie led by as many as 24 during the contest.

"Tonight was a great team effort," said Head Coach Ryan Cunningham.  "A lot of kids saw action tonight and we did some really good things both offensively and defensively."

Ovid-Elsie used a 12-3 first quarter surge to put Bath at bay but the Fighting Bees fought back with an 11-10 second quarter to only trail by 8 at half, 22-14.

"We felt that we left a lot of points on the floor during that second stanza.  We missed several easy shots," Cunningham noted.

Coming out of the locker room after half, Ovid-Elsie once again turned up the pressure and built a 41-21 lead with a 19-7 third quarter surge.  A 9-8 fourth quarter made the final score OE 50, Bath 29.

Braeden Tokar led the Marauders in scoring with 14 points while pulling down 3 rebounds.  Caitlyn Walter added 9 points, 2 steals and 2 assists while Kiah Longoria filled the stat sheet with 8 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals.  Braylon Bynres added 5 points, Ava Bates added 4 points and 10 rebounds, Kaylee Hall 3 points, Evalyn Cole 2 points and 4 steals, Hailee Campbell 2 points and 4 steals, Murphy Alexa 2 points, and Katie Lorio a free throw to round out the Marauder scoring.

Ovid-Elsie handed out 13 assists on 18 made baskets and collected 20 steals while turning Bath over 31 times.  The Lady Marauders also only committed 11 turnovers on the night.

Ovid-Elsie will host Lansing Eastern on Tuesday, December 7th for it's annual Military Appreciation Night.  Game time is slated for 7:00 p.m.

Ovid-Elsie jumped out to a 21-8 first quarter lead but it was Ionia who turned things up in the second quarter outscoring OE 17-2 and took a 25-23 lead into halftime.

"It was one of the best opening quarters I've seen us play in years," said Head Coach Ryan Cunningham, "but we missed a bunch of bunnies in that second stanza and it cost us.  But give our kids credit, they never folded."

The Lady Marauders would reclaim the lead in the third  (43-34) by outscoring the Bulldogs 20-9 but Ionia would once again even things up with an 18-11 fourth quarter surge.

"Ionia is solid and they have a strong post presence that we struggled with.  She (Reams) ended up with 20 points," noted Cunningham.

The big moment of the game came when OE had a player injured on a shooting foul.  Rylee Lewis checked into the game without any warning, stepped to the line and buried two free throws with under 6 seconds left in the game.  On the ensuing possession, Kaylee Hall hustled to tip the ball away from a would-be Ionia scorer as time expired.

"I couldn't be more happy for Rylee," said Coach Cunningham.  "We have a solid team and when things are going well, you don't go as deep into your rotation.  But Lewis stepped into the most nerve-racking, pressure situation you could possibly put a kid in and she delivered."

Caitlyn Walter had a team high 18 points to go along with 4 assists and 3 steals, while Kiah Longoria hit three triples en route 9 points.  Braeden Tokar (6 rebounds) and Evalyn Cole (4 assists & 7 steals) each added 7 points.  Hailee Campbell had a team high 8 steals to go along with her 5 points.  Ava Bates chipped in with 4 points and Rylee Lewis and Braylon Byrnes 2 points each.

The Lady Marauders (1-0) will have a quick turn around to get ready for the Bath Bees who will visit OE on Thursday night.  Game time is slated for 7:00 p.m.