Depleted Mississinawa Valley girls basketball team loses to crosstown rival Union City

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UNION CITY, Ind. – Playing without three key players Tuesday night, the Mississinawa Valley girls basketball team lost 77-23 to crosstown rival Union City, Indiana.

“The girls that we have played as hard as they could,” Mississinawa Valley coach Vance Venesky said. “And with the weather the way it’s been, with really not a lot of practice time. I have girls doing stuff right now that they’re not used to doing. It’s all a learning experience, and we’ll be better in the future because of it.”

On Tuesday Mississinawa Valley was without Sidnie Hunt, who leads the Blackhawks in points, rebounds and assists, because of a dislocated finger. MV also was without a second starter in Kya Lavy and a key backup in Lindsay Johns because of a car crash that afternoon.

“It was something that happened right before,” Venesky said. “Two of our girls were in an accident on the way to catch the bus.

“Kya’s a starter and Lindsay’s like the first person off the bench. Missed all three of them because of the depth part but you really miss Sidnie when your best player can’t play.”

The depleted Blackhawks fell behind 12-0 early against Union City. With 4:25 remaining in the opening quarter, Leah Scholl got the Hawks on the scoreboard with a 3-pointer. She also added a free throw later in the period, which ended with Union City leading 25-4.

Olivia Murphy paced the Mississinawa offense in the second quarter, making two free throws and adding a field goal. At halftime, Union City led 40-8.

Murphy and Scholl continued to lead the Mississinawa Valley offense in the third quarter with Murphy hitting one 3-pointer and Scholl adding two. Scholl, a freshman, is quickly establishing herself as a key part of MV’s roster.

“She was out a couple of weeks at Christmastime with surgery on her feet, she came back, she started the last two games, and our offense is a lot better because of it,” Venesky said. “So you’ll probably be seeing her a lot as far as the point guard goes.”

While Mississinawa Valley had some success on the outside, Union City was even better. Kahlee Dowler made a school record seventh 3-pointer late in the third quarter to put the home team up 63-17.

Bailey Johnson and Taylor Stachler got in the scoring column in the fourth quarter for Mississinawa Valley, which ended up losing 77-23.

“The wins and the losses will come later once I get these girls some experience,” Venesky said. “We’re still missing layups because we’re shooting them too hard, and that’s just because they’re not used to playing at a fast pace on the varsity level. But they’ll figure it out. They’re all young.”

Scholl led Mississinawa Valley with 10 points on Tuesday. Also for the Hawks, Murphy scored 8 points, Johnson scored 3, and Stachler scored 2.

Dowler led Union City with a game-high 23 points, Justiss Cantu scored 15 points, Mackenzie Green scored 8, Ellie Kerns scored 8, Maddy Cox scored 6, Luzy Corona-Lara scored 5, Mya Carpenter scored 4, Jodi Carpenter scored 3, Sophia Spence scored 3, and Emalee Bocanegra scored 2.

Mississinawa Valley fell to 0-11 with Tuesday’s loss. The Blackhawks will return to action on Thursday against Arcanum.

“We’re going to keep trying to get better, and hopefully one of these days we’ll have a complete game,” Venesky said.

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Mississinawa Valley’s Leah Scholl looks to pass during a girls basketball game against Union City on Tuesday in Union City, Indiana.
https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_Leah-Scholl-WEB.jpgMississinawa Valley’s Leah Scholl looks to pass during a girls basketball game against Union City on Tuesday in Union City, Indiana. Kyle Shaner | The Daily Advocate

By Kyle Shaner

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Kyle Shaner may be reached at 937-569-4316. Follow me on Twitter @KShanerAdvocate or get updates on Facebook by searching Darke County Sports or Advocate 360. For more features online go to dailyadvocate.com.

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