Marion girls drop game vs. Wildcats

Written by Janae Rempel Tuesday, 08 January 2013 15:49

The Marion girls struggled to put points on the board in Friday’s league contest at Moundridge, coming up short 49-13.

“We knew coming in this was going to be a tough one,” coach Kelly Robson said. “Moundridge is a quality team. They defend very well.”

The Warriors had difficulty finding offensive rhythm against the Moundridge defense, committing turnovers and missing shots.

“We want to continue to improve our ball-handling against good, pressure man-to-man defense,” Robson said. “We get a little out of sorts and try to hurry things, and that’s what good man-to-man teams try to do to you. We missed quite a few close shots that I thought were pretty open.”

The Warriors suffered a scoreless first period to enter the second quarter trailing 17-0 to a Wildcat squad displaying sure-fire shooting.

“We didn’t make a ton of adjustments (after the first quarter),” Robson said. “We knew they were going to shoot it well, and we said going in, if we’re going to stay in our zone, we’re just going to have to hustle really well in the zone.”

Katey Ehrlich contributed a two-point basket to open the second quarter, but Moundridge went on a 7-0 run before Megan Richmond broke the streak with two shots from the free-throw line with 5:09 left in the half.

Kelli Hess cashed in two, and Ericka Herzet sank two from the charity line with under one minute remaining before halftime, but the Warriors trailed 33-8 at the break.

Shooting from the perimeter because of the Warriors’ defensive effort, Moundridge made five three-point baskets in the contest.

Moundridge continued to hit shots in the third period to finish the quarter with a decisive 47-13 lead. Richmond scored three points in the third quarter on her way to a team-high five points, while Briana Hall added the Warriors’ final basket with 1:10 remaining in the third.

A running clock took effect to start the fourth quarter, and Moundridge scored the sole basket with 1:19 to play.

Despite the score, Robson said he was pleased with his team’s effort.

“We’re not giving up, we’re not quitting,” he said. “We’re trying to hustle out of our defense and do everything we can there. Offensively, we’re trying to run the stuff that we’ve been working on. The score doesn’t show very well for us, but I’m happy with how hard they’re going.”

With the loss, the Warriors drop to 0-2 in the Heart of America and 2-6 overall. Mound­ridge improved to 3-0 and 5-2.

Coming—Marion was scheduled to host Sedgwick (1-1, 2-6) in an HOA matchup Tuesday, then will participate in the Centre Classic tournament Jan. 15-19.