Marion boys 5-0, girls win for sweep of Canton-Galva in HOA road games

Written by Katie Morford Friday, 14 December 2012 22:38

The Marion girls won a back-and-forth battle at Canton-Galva tonight, 40-35, before the boys took care of business, 60-31, to give Marion the sweep over a Heart of America opponent in a non-league game. The boys improve to 5-0, while the girls are now 2-3. Marion is scheduled to take on Remington Tuesday, with tipoff at 6 p.m. for the girls and 7:30 p.m. for the boys. 

Boys - Marion sprinted to a 5-0 lead and kept the pressure coming to take a 17-7 lead at the end of the first period. Jacob Harper and Ethan Hett drained threes in the last five minutes of the half for a 32-14 advantage by halftime.

Marion kept up the pressure in the second half, stringing together a 12-point run to go up, 52-18, with two minutes remaining in the period. Austin Pederson earned back-to-back baskets off steals with an assist from Harper to give Marion a 58-20 lead at the end of the third quarter.

The reserves took over in the fourth period, with Morgan Wheeler the only Warrior to score. Canton-Galva put up seven points for the final score of 60-31. 

Harper recorded 26 points in three quarters of playing time. Backing him were Pederson with 10 points, Zac Robson with seven points, Jordan Hett with six and Ethan Hett with three. 

Girls - Three back-to-back Warrior turnovers gave Marion a rocky start and the Eagles a 4-0 lead, but the Warriors refocused to make it a battle through the rest of the first period. The teams swapped leads multiple times before a bucket from Corey Shields gave Marion an 11-10 lead at the end of the quarter. 

Katie Ehrlich scored on a rebound to start another hard-fought quarter. With Canton-Galva often only a basket behind, Marion held on for a 21-18 margin at halftime. 

Marion and Canton-Galva traded leads for the duration of the third quarter. Canton-Galva's Erika Smith drained a three-pointer at the end of the period to give the Eagles a 31-30 lead. 

The two teams continued to swap baskets in the final period. Momentum finally shifted the Warriors' way when Kelli Hess hit a free throw to give Marion a 36-35 lead with just under three minutes left. Kaelyn Theirolf hit a free throw and Ehrlich scored at the line and on a layup off a steal to secure the win. 

Ehrlich led Marion with 17 points, followed by Megan Richmond and Hess with five points each.