Versailles wins MAC title with win over Delphos
Tigers go undefeated in conference
By George Starks

VERSAILLES - Coming into Thursday’s game with Delphos St. Johns, the Versailles Lady Tigers were guaranteed no less than a share of the Midwest Athletic Conference title.

A win and the Tigers will stand alone at the top and the outright MAC title.

Led by junior Brooke Pothast with a season high 11 points, Versailles never trailed, rolling to a 49-34 victory over the Blue Jays.

“Brooke played really well tonight and shot the ball well,” said Versailles coach Jackie Stonebraker. “She made free throws tonight and took the ball to the hole when she was open. She is just an all-purpose player and that’s what I call Brooke. She plays hard on defense and gets a little junk on offense and that’s what hard workers do.”

Jumping out to a 15-5 first quarter lead, the game was never in doubt for Versailles.

“I think the girls played with high intensity,” said Stonebraker. “We got a little sloppy in the second quarter but it hard to come off a loss the way we did. We were deflated a little bit but they came back.”

The Blue Jays were able to outscore Versailles in the second quarter by a mere point, 11-10, the Tigers turned on the defense in the third quarter, holding Delphos to just two points, while putting up 13 points of their own, holding a commanding 38-18 lead after three.

“I guess I didn’t realize the spread of the game that early,” said Stonebreaker. “It was all about what level they wanted to play and what standard they wanted to play at. “

On a night when the Tigers were in control from the opening jump, Stonebraker was able to get all her players into the game, including senior Chloe Warvel. Warvel was seeing her first action since her sophomore season, as she blew her knee out.

Warvel never scored but the senior gave it all she had while she was in.

“It was nice to see her out there tonight,” admitted Stonebraker. “She’s a little leary, maybe even a little shady about that left knee. She went up for a right handed lay-up and you could tell she wasn’t comfortable pushing off the left foot. We just have to keep working with her and having faith in her.”

Now with the MAC title securely put in her hip pocket, Stonebreaker will take on Jackson Center Saturday and will watch nine seniors play their last game in Versailles.

From there, Versailles, now 17-3, will prepare for its second round sectional game with the winner of Preble Shawnee and Milton Union.

That game will be played at Tipp City on Tuesday, January 18 at 6 pm.