Marysville girls basketball fends off Marine City, 47-42, in MAC Gold showdown

MARINE CITY — Both teams came with their winning streaks, student sections and talented rosters.

But only one side left with what it came for.

The Marysville girls basketball team survived a second-half surge and outlasted Marine City, 47-42, in a MAC Gold clash on Thursday. Kaitlyn Cain scored a game-high 20 points for the Vikings, who improved to 8-2. The Mariners fell to 8-2 and were led by Janie Ferrone's 12 points.

"I was proud of our girls being able to make some plays down the stretch and hang on," said Marysville coach Ryan Rathje, whose team won its fifth straight game. "Overall, it was a big effort."

"We brought a lot of energy right from the start and got that big lead," Cain said. "Then in the third quarter, (Marine City) scored a bunch. So we just had to keep our energy up and keep going."

Both teams started strong and exchanged buckets for much of the first quarter.

Ferrone opened the scoring with a 3-pointer. Cain responded with a driving layup and Maddy Smith (seven points) added a triple. Marine City's Josalyn Dietlin (10 points) scored on a putback that tied the game, 5-5. Cain and Smith then answered with consecutive layups.

Jade Blanchard (10 points) got on the board with a floater and brought the Mariners within two, 9-7, midway through the first quarter. But that's when Marine City began to unravel.

The Vikings scored the next 19 points and grabbed a 28-7 edge. Avery Wolters (12 points) sparked the dramatic run with a pair of layups.

"It felt really good to take the lead and rush it down the court," Wolters said. "It was really intense, but it was really fun. Getting our fast breaks was exciting."

While Marysville's offense flourished, its defense threw the Mariners off their game. Marine City couldn't get anything in the paint and instead settled for outside shots.

"We really had to make sure we were playing tough defense," Cain said. "We knew that we couldn't let their post (players) get it ... or give up easy threes because we know they have pretty good shooters."

The Mariners finally ended the run when Blanchard scored on a putback with 10 seconds left in the second quarter. Marysville led 28-9 at the break.

"We knew they were gonna come out on a mission in the second half and they did," Rathje said. "So give them credit for battling back."

Marine City opened the third quarter on a 7-0 spurt. Dietlin sank two free throws, Blanchard added a putback and Khloe Austin (five points) nailed a 3-pointer from the right wing. The Mariners outscored the Vikings 20-9 in the period and trailed by eight points entering the fourth.

"We know that Marine City is really well coached and they've got a lot of threats to score," Rathje said.

The Mariners cut the deficit to five on two separate occasions in the final quarter. But Marysville found just enough offense to keep them at bay. Wolters scored six points in the fourth and grabbed several key rebounds late to seal the victory.

"Avery stepped up big time," Cain said. "She was finishing really well. She really helped us."

"We needed to do it by committee," Rathje said. "Obviously, Kaitlyn gave us a huge lift, but it was good to see some other girls get some points on the board too ... we're just trying to get better each game."

Contact Brenden Welper at bwelper@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrendenWelper.

This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Girls hoops: Marysville fends off Marine City in MAC Gold clash