Marion trailed by just two points, 14-12, after one quarter. But Lyons used a 23-11 second-quarter advantage to take a 37-23 lead at halftime.

"We've gone from having two bad quarters to just having one bad quarter, so I guess we're making progress," coach Daryl Enos said.

Andrea Leiker poured in 22 first-half points.

Marion battled back to whittle the lead to 51-42 after three quarters, and then cut the lead to just three points with just under a minute to play before sending Lyons to the foul line in the final moments.

"That nine-point margin was pretty misleading, really," Enos said. "They made some free throws down the stretch and we missed a 3-point shot that would have tied the game, but that's the way it goes."

Sarah Williams led Marion with 14 points, Leann Thomas added 11 and Megan Hudson 10.

"We took 65 shots for the night and that's a big plus for us," Enos said. "That's where we want to be, but we need to hit a better percentage."

Leiker led all scorers with 30 points.

"She's a very good player," Enos said. "Twelve of her points were from the free-throw line. "She just drove to the basket and we reached and put her on the line."

Marion was 10 for 15 (67 percent) from the free-throw line while Lyons was 16 of 20.

"I wish we would have won, but I was happy with the way we stuck with it and came back," Enos said. "Lyons isn't a bad club. They have a couple of really good players and their supporting cast isn't bad either.

"I don't know, I still think it may be a long shot to some, but I still think we have a chance to go to Hutch (for state tournament play), so that's what we're leaning toward."

With the loss, Marion falls to 7-9 overall and 1-6 in the MCAA.

Coming-Marion played host to Halstead on Tuesday and will travels to Haven Friday before entertaining Hesston at home on Saturday in a game rescheduled because of snow on Feb. 8.