Marion whips Mount Vernon in opener

MOUNT VERNON — You knew Chloe Rice could fill a stat sheet. You heard Kayba Laube could fill it up from outside.

Here's what you may not have known: Marion can cause fits with its defense.

The Class 4A second-ranked Indians forced 28 turnovers and ran away after the first quarter for a 60-24 Wamac Conference cross-divisional girls' basketball rout of 3A No. 6 Mount Vernon on Tuesday at Mount Vernon High School.

'Our defense was really amped up and disruptful,' Marion Coach Corby Laube said. 'We got a lot of tips ... a lot of extra effort enabled us to get our hands on the ball.'

Hopes are sky-high for the Indians (1-0) after advancing to the 4A state semifinals last year. But they trailed after a quarter Tuesday, and Mount Vernon (0-1) took its last lead at 13-12, two minutes into the second period.

It was all Marion after that; the Indians outscored the Mustangs 48-11 the rest of the way.

'We knew Mount Vernon would come out strong. They are tough-mined people,' Rice said. 'We had to lock in defensively, be on the help side. (Mount Vernon's Kaitlyn) Volesky is a big threat, so we had to dig in on her.'

Rice did a little of everything, accumulating 20 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals.

'The whole team was moving the ball well after the first quarter,' she said. 'That made everything a lot easier.'

Kayba Laube entered high school with the reputation of long-range theatrics, and the freshman hit 3 of 5 from deep in an 11-point debut.

'She was ready,' Rice said. 'We were excited for her to play with us. She was definitely ready.'

The Indians have a strong nine-player rotation, and eight of them scored. Randi Wright and Sophie Willette added six points apiece.

Hayley Corkin led Mount Vernon with seven points.

'They moved the ball better than us,' Mustangs Coach Dennis Roloff said. 'We've got to get our chemistry and our timing, but once we do, we'll be fine.'

Mount Vernon hosts Benton Community on Monday. Marion is at DeWitt Central on Tuesday.

MARION 60, MOUNT VERNON 24

At Mount Vernon

MARION (60): Chloe Rice 8-16 4-5 20, Caitlyn Smith 1-8 0-0 3, Randi Wright 3-5 0-0 6, Mia Laube 2-7 0-1 5, Kayba Laube 4-6 0-0 11, Sophie Willette 2-3 2-2 6, Maddie Knapp 2-3 0-0 5, Elle Herold 2-4 0-0 4, Isabella Sade 0-2 0-0 0, Sydney Nielsen 0-1 0-0 0, Kenzie Redmond 0-1 0-0 0, Camryn Cannoy 0-0 0-0 0, Miranda Beik 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-56 6-8 60.

MOUNT VERNON (24): Ella Brase 2-7 0-0 6, Hayley Corkin 2-5 2-2 7, Bailey Hauser 0-0 0-0 0, Kristen Elliott 1-4 1-2 3, Ella Norton 0-4 1-2 1, Libby Ryan 0-4 0-0 0, Kaitlyn Volesky 2-4 1-2 5, Sydney Hauser 0-1 0-0 0, Annie Rhomberg 0-0 0-0 0, McKenzie Hartl 0-3 0-0 0, Haley Baker 0-1 0-0 0, Samantha Moss 0-0 0-0 0, Noelle Ossenkop 0-0 2-2 2, Kyli Orr 0-0 0-0 0, Mackenzie Ketchum 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 7-34 7-10 24.

Halftime: Marion 26, Mount Vernon 14. 3-point goals: Marion 6-18 (Rice 0-3, Smith 1-4, Wright 0-1, M.Laube 1-1, K.Laube 3-5, Knapp 1-2, Herold 0-2), Mount Vernon 3-11 (Brase 2-5, Corkin 1-3, Elliott 0-1, Ryan 0-1, Hartl 0-1). Team fouls: Marion 12, Mount Vernon 7. Fouled out: none. Technical foul: Mount Vernon team (substitution error). Rebounds: Marion 28 (Rice, Smith, Wright 5), Mount Vernon 32 (Volesky 9). Assists: Marion 11 (Rice 5), Mount Vernon 3 (Elliott 2). Steals: Marion 14 (Rice 5). Mount Vernon 5 (Corkin 3). Turnovers: Marion 7, Mount Vernon 28.

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com