'The toughest one yet': Shelby overcomes season of adversity for 5th straight MOAC title

SHELBY — If ever there was a year to dethrone the Shelby girls basketball team, it was this year.

The Whippets lost the three All-Ohioans to graduation and their fifth-leading scorer from last season to an ACL injury. They were starting three inexperienced sophomores and two seniors who had never had to be in leadership roles before. They toyed around with several different lineups and rotations and even lost three Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference games during the 2022-23 season.

Yet, after a dominating 72-38 win over Ontario on Thursday night, the Whippets can still call themselves champions, again. They claimed their fifth consecutive MOAC championship with the win, sharing it with River Valley and Pleasant as they all finished 11-3 in the league.

The Whippets (17-5, 11-3) won their 21st league championship since 1975, joining the teams from 1975, '77, '83, '86, '88, '89, '92, '98, '99, 2006, '07, '08, '12, '13, '17 and 2019-23.

The latest installment of a league championship came as a surprise to many, but not to the coach who witnessed the day-to-day grind her team put in throughout the season. Day after day, Natalie Lantz saw her Whippets respond to adversity, and even when they dropped an important league game last week to Clear Fork, they never doubted themselves Thursday night.

"Honestly, after the first scrimmage, I thought we could run the slate again," Lantz said. "Then, it just seemed like we got hit with a lot of challenges right off the bat with injuries and adversity. It was a roller coaster to get these young kids to get in there and stay confident and do their jobs.

"I tell you what — they fight for it and keep getting better, and this was definitely the toughest one yet. I am so proud of them for staying the course and not giving up. They could have hung their heads after the Clear Fork game and it could have caused us to be in a battle tonight, but they wanted it and used it as motivation."

Lantz also knows this year's championship wouldn't have been possible without her two seniors. Point guard Demi Hipp finished with a Demi-Hipp-esque stat line of six points, nine assists, four rebounds and just one turnover. Audi Albert had 15 points, nine rebounds, five steals and three assists and displayed a fiery passion every time down the court.

This one was for them.

"They are a huge reason for this title," Lantz said. "Their leadership has been great. They have come up through this culture, and it is the fourth year they have done this and they stayed the course all four years. Demi was our silent leader and Audi was the passionate leader who holds herself and her teammates accountable. They both have so much passion and are committed to wanting it for the team. They are unselfish, do their jobs and do what is asked of them on every given night.

"I am proud of their leadership, especially with more losses than those two are used to. But 17-5 is nothing to hang our heads about. Championship No. 5, and the coolest thing is these young players can make it six next year."

Hipp admitted this one felt extra special given it was a senior-year title and one for which she was a major part of the leadership crew.

"It definitely does but mostly because of all of the adversity we had to overcome is what made it extra special," Hipp said. "It shows our grit and how hard we work. We wanted to win the league again and knew how much work it was going to take from everyone. The underclassmen really put in the work to help get us that five-peat, so we appreciate that."

Albert agreed.

"It just shows that we went into the gym every day with the mindset to get better and work a little harder than we would if we did have everyone healthy," she said. "That just shows the level of passion we all play with in every practice and every game."

Albert, who was key last year along with All-Ohioans Sophie Niese, Olivia Baker and Haylee Baker, saw the doubt everyone had in this year's Shelby team because who could overcome losing those three along with sharpshooting Mallory Gundrum to an ACL injury?

"The doubt that everyone had on us after we lost the Big 3 was enormous," Albert said. "We had to show everyone that we still had the talent to win this league again."

And they showed it Thursday. They also showed they have the talent to win it again next year and quite possibly the year after that. Sophomore Eve Schwemley led the Whippets in scoring with 21 points while also adding three assists and four steals. Sophomore Charlie Niese had a huge game with nine points and sophomore Trinity Baker added eight.

But what Lantz saw from those younger players throughout the year was the excitement with which they accepted senior leadership from Hipp and Albert and the growth because of it was 10-fold.

"That is what I like," Lantz said. "The culture is here and it took us a long time to get it, but every year it changes and evolves with the leadership of our upperclassmen and how our underclassmen take that leadership. We knew what we had coming back and we are very excited about what the next few years can bring."

Hipp and Albert have both been impressed with Schwemley's evolution into a go-to scorer at such a young age.

"She has definitely grown so much as a player this year," Hipp said. "She comes from a great family with her mom and dad being stellar athletes, so we expected nothing less out of her. She helped our team so much this year."

"Her ability to handle adversity and love for the game shows just how much work she put into the game," Albert said. "She spends every second of the day in the gym. We trust her 100%."

With the regular season wrapped up, the Whippets now turn their focus to the Division II sectional tournament. They take on Lexington at 6 p.m. Feb. 6 at Edison High School in the semifinals. They are looking for a repeat trip to the regionals after making it last season for the first time in 23 years.

Ontario (9-13) was led by Taylor Counts (13 points), who was the lone double-digit scorer for the Warriors. The Warriors will play either Bellevue or Vermilion at 6 p.m. Feb. 18 at Willard High School for a sectional championship.

jfurr@gannett.com

740-244-9934

Twitter: @JakeFurr11

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Shelby won the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference girls basketball title