It was a disappointing night for the Marion Warriors as the girls’ and boys’ teams absorbed another loss and dropped to 1-7 for the season. While the girls nearly went scoreless in the first quarter of their 46-28 defeat, the boys scored 10 unanswered points to start the game, but ultimately lost, 51-42.
The girls’ game began with both defenses preventing any points until the 5:27 mark when Jaime Lovett put in two free throws for the Cardinals. With 2:08 left in the quarter and a down 9-0, coach Randy Savage called a timeout.
Erin Meierhoff scored the team’s first points with less than a minute to go in the quarter, and the Warriors trailed at the end, 11-2. Marion shot 19 percent (4-21) in the first half and committed 17 turnovers before heading into the locker room down 22-8.
“I think Sedgwick, having three 6-foot players, probably intimidated the girls a little in the first half,” Savage said.
In the second half, Marion improved its shooting to 28 percent (6-21), cut turnovers to 10, and also made seven free throws.
“In the second half we attacked them a little bit more, and we did a better job of being aggressive,” Savage said.
Whitney Gordon led MHS with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Katey Ehrlich contributed six points and seven rebounds.
In the boys’ game, Jordan Hett began the one-sided scoring frenzy with a layup and a free throw, giving the Warriors a 3-0 lead. Jordan Versch got in on the action with two free throws and a 3-pointer, and Jacob Harper also put up five points in the first quarter.
The two teams were evenly matched in the second quarter, and Marion had a nine-point advantage going into halftime, 29-20.
“We’ve had a lot of emphasis on offense in practice, and tonight we came out with composure,” coach Jeff McMillin.
The second half was a thrilling, but different, story for Marion. With 4:12 remaining in the third quarter, Jordan Hett hit a jumper to put the Warriors up by 11 and cause a frustrated Sedgwick coach to call time out.
After the pause, the Cardinals tightened their full-court pressure and caused back-to-back turnovers, scoring six unanswered points in the process. With the momentum shifted, and the home crowd roaring, Sedgwick held the Warriors to four points in the third quarter, and tied the game at 33.
Things quickly spiraled out of control in the fourth quarter. Sedgwick went on a 6-0 run, and the press continued to cause problems for Marion’. “
We tried to stay composed against the pressure and we didn’t do that very well. They were trying to speed us up and we let them,” McMillin said.
Versch finished the game with 15 points and Hett had 14. The Warriors will host Hutch Trinity on Friday.
