Lima Central Catholic’s Emily Morrisey goes up for a shot against Shawnee’s Heaven Watkins during Saturday’s game at Msgr. Edward C. Herr Gymnasium.
Richard Parrish | The Lima News
LIMA — Shawnee got some much-needed reinforcements on Saturday.
After missing the past four games with a knee injury, Grace Freiberger returned to the lineup, scored 17 points, and led the Indians to a 56-27 win over LCC.
During Freiberger’s absence, the Indians went 0-4 and averaged just 23 points per game on offense.
“She (Freiberger) helps us in every aspect of the game,” Shawnee coach Rachel Rumbaugh said. “Obviously on offense, but she’s also our best defender. We also got Kamryn (Morris) back today, so it was really good to have almost the whole team back together.”
Morris missed Shawnee’s 52-13 loss to Ottawa-Glandorf on Thursday. Both Morris and Freiberger came off the bench on Saturday, which Rumbaugh said was her way of easing her two starters back into the lineup.
Freiberger and Morris checked in at the 4:27 mark of the first quarter and immediately sent the Indians on a 10-0 run.
“It’s so nice to be back out there with my teammates. I really missed it,” Freiberger said. “Everything felt off at first, but I felt some relief when I saw the ball go in a few times. Everything started to click and I found myself again.”
Freiberger assisted Brynn Patterson on a two, then scored on Shawnee’s next two trips down the court. The Indians took the lead with 2:23 left in the first quarter and they never trailed again.
“She (Freiberger) gives the other girls confidence,” Rumbaugh said. “Having her on the floor just does so much for us.”
Morgan Betts added 10 points on the afternoon for Shawnee, followed by Brynn Patterson with eight and Haileigh Stump with six. Kamryn Morris had four points in her return.
Aubrey Frankhouser scored a team-high 15 points for LCC. The T-birds struggled mightily to take care of the ball with 36 turnovers.
Shawnee shot the ball at a clip of 30 percent from the floor and out-rebounded LCC 34-22.
The Indians still have two regular season games left against Kenton and Allen East. Their Thursday night matchup against Kenton will break a tie for fourth place in the WBL.
Rumbaugh said that the key to a strong finish for her team is to spread out the production on the offensive end.
“We need everyone to contribute on offense. I think that’s something we’ve struggled with this year. But this game was a good stepping stone for us to get better at that. This was a good quality win.”
Shawnee 56, LCC 27
Score by quarters
Shawnee 12 20 12 12 – 56
LCC 6 8 8 5 – 27
SHAWNEE
Grace Freiberger 17, Morgan Betts 10, Brynn Patterson 8, Haileigh Stump 6, Anna Menke 5, Kamryn Morris 4, Alexis Whetstone 2, Heaven Watkins 2, Totals: 25-3-56
LCC
Aubrey Frankhouser 15, Emily Morrisey 5, Madeline Nott 3, Carolina Kill 2, Alice Reif 2, Totals: 13-2-27
Three-point field goals — SH: Menke 1, Stump 1, Freiberger 1; LCC: Nott 1.
Records — Shawnee 8-12; LCC 2-19
Reach Chris Howell at 567-242-0468 or on Twitter @Lima_Howell
