MOUNT VERNON — The Mount Vernon High School varsity girls basketball team got an early Christmas present on Friday night at “The Hive” — their first home victory of the season.
The Yellow Jackets scored the first 12 points against the Franklin Heights Falcons and never looked back. Mount Vernon used a 26-3 run over the first 15 minutes to hammer Franklin Heights, 57-31, in Ohio Capital Conference Capital Division play.
“In the first half, I thought we played real nice defense,” said Mount Vernon coach Doug Savage. “We had good pressure on the basketball. We were denying passes real well on the wings, and passes inside to the post. I think our defense led to our offense. ... If we can continue to do these things, good things are going to happen for us. ... Overall, we were playing good basketball.”
Behind Nikki DiGuilio and Caroline Caldwell, the Jackets (2-4, 2-2 OCC) put up a fury of points in the first quarter. DiGuilio hit the opening jumper just 25 seconds in and it was off to the races. She added a 3-pointer and another jumper, while Caldwell score three times off putbacks. A putback by Jhazmyn Anderson with 19 seconds left made it an 18-2 game, but the Falcons (1-4, 0-3 OCC) got one free throw by Shanee Hampton to make it a 15-point game after one.
The troubles didn’t stop there for Franklin Heights, however. The Falcons continued to struggle to hold onto the ball as Mount Vernon’s aggressive defense kept pushing them in the second quarter. Mount Vernon got 3s from Sadie Malone and DiGuilio and a free throw each from Anderson and Christine Herald to continue the run. In the final three minutes of the second quarter, Franklin Heights showed some life and went on a 6-2 run to make it a 28-9 gam at the half.
“(Our start) was really important because it got our confidence up,” said Mount Vernon senior Paige Wagner. “We try to be aggressive on defense. We really wanted to work on offense and try to get the ball into the post. I think we were all working together, especially as the game went on.”
Mount Vernon struck first in the third quarter as a Tori Chapman steal and miss turned into a putback for Wagner. The Falcons pulled together, however, and scored six straight points over the next 2 1/2 minutes. The Jackets then answered with a 9-0 run, including five points from Wagner, to pull ahead by 24 with 39 seconds left. Paris Moore hit a 3-pointer for the Falcons to cut into the lead, 39-18, with 25 seconds left.
The Falcons put up their highest point total in the fourth quarter — 13 points — but the Jackets continued to roll along. Fueled by Karina Shackle, Mount Vernon opened the final period on a 9-2 spurt and put the score at 48-20. That turned out to be its biggest lead of the game, as both teams matched each other down the stretch.
“For our spirits, this was a big win,” said Savage. “The girls are really outcome oriented. They base on everything if they win or lose, where I look at how we played and what we can improve on. For their sake, I thought they deserved to win and they got it. They played pretty hard tonight. We even had the bench come in and make some contributions.”
For the game, Franklin Heights shot 7-of-37 from the field, including 1-of-8 from the three-point line. The Falcons went 16-of-29 from the free-throw line, and had more turnovers (33) than points. Mount Vernon, which collected 23 steals and outrebounded the Falcons, 39-36, shot 21-of-56 from the field, including 6-of-18 from three-point range. The Jackets were 9-of-16 on free-throw attempts.
“We are trying to get better,” said Savage. “The kids have been playing hard all year. I know our record doesn’t necessarily indicate that, but look at who we’ve played. ... We haven’t been playing chicken liver.”
Wagner posted a double-double of 12 points and 10 steals to lead the Jackets. She also had three rebounds. DiGuilio scored 10 points, and had eight rebounds, three steals and three assists. Shackle had nine points, two assists and four rebounds; Caldwell contributed six points, five rebounds and two steals; Courtney Burke posted six points; and Sadie Malone and Anderson each scored five points.
“This feels really good,” Wagner said. “Hopefully, this proves to people that we are not a team that gives up on itself.”
Moore led Franklin Heights with 15 points, six rebounds and five steals. Courtney Gholson added eight points, six rebounds and four steals; and Maritza Will pulled down 10 rebounds.
In junior varsity play, Mount Vernon crushed Franklin Heights, 45-3. Burke and Rebecca Fiecoat, who scored three points in the varsity game, led the way with eight points each. Tori Flemming and Keli Thompson added seven points apiece for the undefeated Jackets (6-0).
Mount Vernon will continue its homestand on Tuesday when it hosts Columbus South. South lost to Utica, 77-11, on Thursday night. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.
