“You have to learn, and you have those growing pains. You have to figure out how to fight to win a game. That’s what we did tonight.”
Ally Crim scored all of her team-high 10 points in the second half, and Madison held off a late Talawanda surge to secure a 42-39 victory on Monday night.
“The growth that we’ve shown in a month is so impressive to me, and I’m excited to see where we can get,” said McGuire, who took over for his father and longtime coach Brian McGuire when Brian retired after last season.
“It’s all about that process of us getting better, and that’s what we’re kind of focusing on.”
Madison (2-5), which snapped a four-game losing streak, scored the first six points and held Talawanda (3-4) scoreless for more than four minutes to start the game.
The Mohawks led 9-8 heading into the second quarter and 18-15 at halftime. Madison outscored Talawanda 15-9 in the third quarter before fending off the Brave down the stretch.
Malerie Bobbitt and Aubrey Felty each scored eight points for Madison, which shot 9 of 16 from the line. Liv Carpenter added seven points in the second half.
“I think we really worked hard as a team, and the hard work that we put in practice really transferred to the game,” said Crim, a sophomore guard. “I think we played good against their freshmen that they have. They have a few really good freshmen, so I think we overall just worked really well as a team to defend them.”
Talawanda freshman Janna Cary bucketed a game-high 15 points, while Layni Short added nine.
“We didn’t come out with the energy that we’ve had the last few games,” Brave first-year coach Zach Stapleton said. “We’re a varsity basketball team. You’ve got to be on your A game, or you’re going to get beat. So, that’s what happened.
“We made a good run, and we showed some heart. I think we’re still very young, made some critical mistakes, and it’s all about working through those. It’s a growing year.”
McGuire said his Mohawks had their best performance in terms of balancing the scoring column. Madison had five players score at least six points.
“Tonight’s really the first night where we’ve done that,” McGuire said. “We’ve struggled scoring with the basketball, and I think at times we still did tonight. But shooting wise, we had some people knocking down shots.
“We’re a tough team to scout because it’s not just about taking one person away. With a young team, you have to go with the roller coaster a little bit on consistency. I’m hoping that this gives us the confidence with what we’re doing to continue this.”
Stapleton said he’s liking where his team is at in the season’s early going.
“I feel pretty good,” Stapleton said. “I think it’s a really competitive group. We’ve just got a lot of different pieces, and we’re plugging away with it being kind of new. We’re just moving kids around, and I think once we get that all to fit, we’re going to be in good shape.”
Madison hosts Franklin on Thursday. Talawanda heads to Badin on Saturday.
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