Sacred Heart slips past Marion girls

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN ERIC CLARK
by Eric Clark

The last time Marion faced Sacred Heart, Knights’ sharp-shooter Steph Wittman dominated the game with 26 points.

Friday night she returned and virtually mirrored her previous output as she led the Knights to a 55-47 victory. Wittman finished with a game-high 25 points, including eight huge points in the final quarter.

After the game, coach Jerry Smith said his team couldn’t find a way to stop Wittman.

“We had no answer for her,” Smith said. “We played well, but we just didn’t have anyone that could stick with her. She’s a great player.”

The Warriors got off to a rocky start in the first quarter, trailing by as much as nine points before Krista Zogelman connected on back-to-back jumpers.

But the Knights still led, 13-6, heading into the second quarter. The two teams battled evenly, scoring 10 points a piece, and the Knights claimed a 23-16 lead at halftime.

After intermission, Zogelman hit a couple of jumpers early in the third quarter to give the Warriors some momentum.

Marion’s Maggie Powers capped a Warrior run with a 3-pointer to narrow Sacred Heart’s lead to four points midway through the third quarter. Caitlin O’Dell’s layup got the Warriors to within two points, 29-27.

After Wittman hit a jumper to extend the lead to four, Brandi Peterie scored to pull Marion back within two.

When the Knights failed to score on their next possession, Marion came back down and tied the game at 31 with a little over a minute remaining in the third quarter.

Sacred Heart stole the lead back in the final seconds of the quarter to take a 33-31 advantage.

Marion scored first in the final quarter to tie the game at 33, but Wittman and the other Knights answered with several layups and free throws to hand the Warriors their second Cottonwood Valley League loss of the year.

Zogelman led the Warrior attack with 19 points, three assists, three blocks, two steals and one rebound. Peterie finished with 10 points, five rebounds, two steals and two assists.

“We’re playing better basketball, and we’ve made some progress,” Smith said. “We played hard, but we came up short. It’s going to be hard to get up for the next one.

“I think we’re in position to continue playing good basketball. We have the opportunity to win the rest of our games.”

Centre-While a winter storm raged outside the Centre gym Jan. 29, Marion’s shooting was anything but cold against the Cougars in their non-league match up. The Warriors came back from a first-quarter deficit to register a 61-47 win over their U.S. Highway 77 neighbors.

Centre’s Alisha Loveless scored six of her 17 points in the first quarter. But the Warriors picked up their defense and shooting in the second quarter to outscore the Cougars 16 to nine by halftime.

Marion’s Stacia Williams scored seven of her season-high 17 points in the second quarter.

The Warriors went on to score 20 points in the third quarter and 15 in the final period to nail down the victory.

Williams’ 17 points, five rebounds, two assists and one blocked shot paced the Warrior offense.

Krista Zogelman was 4-for-5 from behind the 3-point line and finished with 16 points, four assists, four steals and two rebounds.

Brandi Peterie added 11 points, nine rebounds, two assists, two steals and one blocked shot.

Coming-The Warriors, after enjoying an open date Tuesday, will take their 8-8 overall record and 4-2 mark in the CVL to Herington Friday night for a critical battle with the Railers.

More from article archives
DEATHS
ORIGINALLY WRITTEN Georgia Bezdek, 84 Georgia E. Bezdek, 84, a retired clerk...
Read More