On Senior Night inside the Hangar on the campus of Union Local, the Jets hosted the visiting John Marshall Monarchs.
As the game began Union Local attempted the full court pressure, they have been using this to build leads all season. The Monarchs were up to the task early in being patient while breaking the pressure. Though, Union Local’s half-court defense was on point in holding the Monarchs to just 6 points in the first quarter.
On the defensive side for John Marshall, they were switching up between man and zone to try to throw the half-court offense of the Jets off. The Jets were able to hit some outside shots and took a 14-6 lead at the end of the first stanza.
Through the first quarter and much of the second quarter the Monarchs were able to hold the big two of Union Local senior’s Reagan Vinskovich and Torre Kildow in check.
Early in this quarter Vinskovich came down with a defensive rebound giving her 1,000 for her career. Adding to her already 1,000-point accomplishment, Vinskovich has had one of the best basketball tenures Union Local has seen.
During the last half of the second quarter both Vinskovich and Kildow began to get some shots to fall. To their credit though the Monarchs duo of Kaitlyn Blake and Rilee Storm kept John Marshall close only trailing 27-21 at the half.
Both teams started the third quarter with some turnovers, both forced and unforced. These led to some easy transition points for the hosts.
Vinskovich and Kildow also came alive during the third quarter with Vinskovich getting some points in the paint and Kildow hitting some jumpers and dribble drives to the basket. Going into the fourth period the Monarchs trailed the Jets 48-34.
Coach Brock Melko decided being down in the fourth that they needed to switch to some full court pressure. After a couple turnovers, the Jets’ Scooter Tolzda called a timeout to adjust to the pressure. This calmed the Jets as they were able to break the pressure after the timeout.
The Jets went to the delay game for much of the quarter, keeping the ball from the Monarchs as the clock ticked away. As the clock hit 0:00 the Jets came away with a 60-49 victory over the visiting John Marshall Monarchs to remain unbeaten on the season at 19-0, the Monarchs drop to 13-5.
Leading the way for the Jets was Vinskovich on her record-breaking night leading all scorers with 26 points. Next, in line for the Jets was Torre Kildow’s 19. The Jets have to top seed in the upcoming Class 3-A basketball tournament with a first round matchup versus Bellaire.
While the Monarchs led by Rilee Storm’s 19 and Kaitlyn Blake’s 12 fell out of the final four in Class 5-A and are waiting to hear who the OVAC will match them up against in the consolation games.
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