Meagan Schulz Photo

SHERBURNE – Playing a stout man-to-man defense, the Vernon-Verona-Sherrill Red Devils shut down the Sherburne-Earlville Lady Marauders offense on their way to a 45-21 victory to claim the Tip-off Tournament hosted by S-E over the weekend.

The Red Devils went on a 15-3 run in the first quarter while the Marauders weren’t able to get to the basket with clean looks. VVS held Sherburne-Earlville to a total of nine points in the first half, going into the break with a 17 point lead.

After the intermission, S-E started to turn the tables with seven straight defensive stops, holding the Red Devils to a few made free throws in the early minutes of the third quarter. However, offensively, the tournament hosts had trouble putting the ball through the rim and only scored six points during their run.

The second half of the stanza saw VVS once again go on a run, closing with 14 points in the third. The tournament’s Most Valuable Player Alexa Kiser racked up a game-high 19 points over the course of the first 24 minutes of play. Her teammates Morgan Brewer – who was an All-Tournament selection – and Lindsay Carrier each scored eight points in the win.

The final quarter saw S-E outscore their opponent 6-5, four points coming from the inside presence of first-year varsity player Maria Albertina.

Sage Ashton, Kaitlyn Furner and Tessa Cole all tied for a team-high, scoring five points each. Furner and Cole each received an All-Tournament team nod.