Warrior girls fall to Braves, 59-53

Kourtney Hansen shoots for two during the second quarter against Council Grove Thursday. Hansen scored 19 points in Marion?s 59-53 loss.The Marion girls relinquished a 10-point lead in their 59-53 loss to Council Grove Thursday. The game was Marion?s fifth in a seven-day stretch, and broke an eight-game win streak.

?We?re a good team, but we all have to do the things that we can do well for us to play well against a team of this quality,? coach Kelly Robson said. ? Tonight, a couple of us just weren?t quite as mentally in it.?

Aside from a 4-4 tie, Marion trailed the duration of the first quarter. The Braves led by as many as 11-6 and took a 13-9 advantage as time expired in the period.

Following a Council Grove free throw, Marshelle Mermis scored to ignite a 7-0 run. The teams traded baskets, and Kirsten Hansen capped scoring in the second quarter with a trey to give the Warriors a 27-26 advantage at halftime.

Marion shot 65 percent from the field in the first half (11-17), while the Braves made half of their shots (9-18).

Council Grove regained the lead after intermission, but Robson scored a traditional three-point play to put Marion in front, 33-32. Over the next 2:28, Marion outscored the Braves, 12-3, for a 45-35 lead at the 1:15 mark. Council Grove scored the final four points of the quarter, making it 45-39.

The Braves further trimmed the lead with a 5-0 run. Robson drained a three, but a Brave trey and two free throws left Marion trailing, 49-48. Kourtney Hansen scored the Warriors? next four points. When Marion?s shots missed their mark, Council grove built a 57-52 lead with 50 seconds left.

Erika Hess scored Marion?s final point at the charity stripe, and missed opportunities left Marion trailing by six when the final buzzer sounded.

?I thought we had pretty good shots,? Robson said. ?Couldn?t quite get them to go in. I didn?t feel like we were quite as fast tonight, either, in our man-to-man offense as we have been sometimes.?

Kourtney Hansen led the Warriors with 19 points.

Coming?Marion (10-4) was scheduled to resume league play at Remington Tuesday. Marion will travel to Bennington Friday.

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