Liberty-Benton wins Mauk tournament title; Elida takes consolation game

ELIDA - Liberty-Benton was a newcomer to the Vicki Mauk Holiday Tournament.

But by midway through Saturday's game, the Eagles made the Elida Fieldhouse look like their home away from home.

Liberty-Benton ran past Minster 51-33 to capture the championship of the girls basketball 10th annual Vicki Mauk Holiday Invitational at the Elida Fieldhouse.

Elida came back from Friday's loss with a 63-52 victory over Miller City to capture the consolation game.

Liberty-Benton (6-0) rolled out a strong inside and outside game, along with a man-to-man defense that took Minster far out of its comfort zone.

Eagles guard Katelyn Saums paced Liberty-Benton with 21 points and four 3-pointers. She hit 8-of-13 from the field. Amanda Hyde had 11 points and six rebounds, while Caite Craft had 10 points.

"This was really fun. We've never played in this holiday tournament," Saums said. "And now we have two games here under our belt, which is good because we have our (sectional) tournament is here."

Liberty-Benton outrebounded Minster, 26-18. Defensively, the Eagles pressured Minster and forced the Wildcats to start their offense farther out than usual.

Minster (4-3) was held to 39 percent shooting, while the Eagles shot 53 percent. Delanie Wolf led Minster with 10 points.

"The hit six threes in the first half and that set the tone for the whole game," Minster coach Nann Stechschulte said. ... "After the first quarter, we were in slow motion, but obviously, they're the better team. We didn't shoot well, we didn't take care of the ball and we didn't rebound well."

Saums hit a pair of 3-pointers in the first quarter, but the game was tied at 14 after the first period. Liberty-Benton then outscored Minster 17-6 in the second quarter to grab a 31-20 lead at the half.

"In the second quarter, we got some turnovers and some easy baskets," Liberty-Benton coach Nate Irwin said. "We hit a couple easy layups and gave ourselves a little bit of breathing room and it was all based on our defense."

Saums scored 14 in the first half, hitting 5 of 7, with four 3-pointers.

"It's always nice when you make the first shot, then you get confidence," Saums said.

Elida 63, Miller City 52

Chelsy Simpson scored 21 points, while Chelsea Mathias added 13 points and nine rebounds in Elida's victory. Kylie Prince scored 10 points.

Miller City's Lindsay Pester had 16 points. Carrie Griggs scored 14 points, but fouled out with 7:17 to play.

Miller City led 34-31 at the half, but the Bulldogs ripped off a 19-4 spurt to start the third quarter to pull out to a 50-38 lead. Mathias scored nine of her points in the key third quarter.

Elida's Amber Saddler injured her ankle in the first quarter, but returned to pull down seven rebounds.

It was a good bounce-back game for Elida (4-4) after falling to Liberty-Benton 53-39 on Friday.

"I liked our sense of urgency," Elida coach Steve Fersch said. "We played hard from the get-go. The loose balls, the rebounds, we got more of those than yesterday."

TOURNAMENT NOTES: The all-tournament team was comprised of Liberty-Benton's Amanda Hyde and Katelyn Saums, Elida's Chelsea Mathias, Minster's Kara Monnin and Miller City's Carrie Griggs.

Elida won the junior varsity Vicki Mauk Tournament with a 44-35 victory over Minster in the finals.

Minster has won six Vicki Mauk titles, while Elida has won two.