By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
MARYVILLE - Maryville has played some tough opponents already this season.
They faced and defeated defending state champion Crete in the Doane Holiday Tournament. They got past a St. Pius X team, who's now 13-1. Their lone loss is to 19-0 Platte Valley by three points.
They also beat Cameron (14-4) and Chillicothe (14-3) by double figures in the Cameron tournament last week.
So, when No. 5 Bishop LeBlond came to town, the Spoofhounds (16-1) didn't flinch.
Maryville jumped out to a 19-7 first quarter lead and never looked back in a 62-36 win over LeBlond (12-5) on Wednesday night at Maryville High School in a game that had been rescheduled from Jan. 21.
The Lady Eagles, ranked No. 5 in Class 2, had been idle since Jan. 19 due to COVID-19 protocol.
"In a season like this, with so much unknown, just them being able to play in a competitive way shows a lot about who (LeBlond) is," Maryville assistant coach Kelly Obley said, who took over head coaching duties for a second straight day as head man Quentin Albrecht remains out with illness.
While coming back from a 15-day absence is a challenge, playing four games in seven days, like Maryville has, can also be tough.
If it did cause any fatigue, it sure didn't show for the Spoofhounds, who are now ranked No. 5 in Class 4, and who have now won 13 straight games.
Maryville sunk a pair of threes in the first quarter, and then made three more in the second, to go up 40-11 by halftime.
They also held the Eagles to just four second quarter, thanks to a myriad of steals.
"I'm so proud of the girls," Obley said. "Just the energy that they showed coming out just to start the game. The intensity level that they had and the way they played for each other is something that we're really proud of."
Senior Serena Sundell, who's been averaging around 30 points a night this season, had a "slower" game Wednesday with a modest 20, including 10 points in the second quarter. Sophomore Rylee Vierthaler scored 16, and fellow sophomore Anastyn Pettlon had 13.
"If we get every girl scoring and doing what they need to be doing to make us successful, we're going to be hard to stop," Sundell said. "Getting everyone involved is really good for us. We're going in the right direction with that."
Sundell and several other starters were able to rest for a decent portion of the fourth quarter with the Spoofhounds at cruising speed, leading 52-25 after the third.
In all, seven players cracked the scoring column for Maryville Wednesday.
"The way the other girls around Serena are able to step up and make shots too makes us a very tough team to guard," Obley said. "For the past two games, we've been able to have all 10 girls on the court, which has been great. The level of play does not drop off."
Maryville heads to Benton to play St. Joseph Central in the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame Showcase Saturday before they host Chillicothe in a Cameron tournament title rematch on Feb. 9.
LeBlond will host Savannah on Friday.
Maryville 62 - 19, 21, 12, 10
Bishop LeBlond 36 - 7, 4, 14, 11
Maryville scorers - Serena Sundell - 20, Rylee Vierthaler - 16, Anastyn Pettlon - 13, Emily Cassavaugh - 5, Ava Dumke - 4, Lauren Cullin - 2, Halle Buck - 2.
Bishop LeBlond scorers - Kyla Conard - 9, Shae Lewis - 8, Tatum Studer - 6, Katie Beam - 4, Emma Raines - 4, Kayla Beam - 3, Sloan Lewis - 2
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