All things must come to an end, and for the Marion girls? basketball team, Hutchinson Trinity was the end of the road. The Warriors lost, 53-31, in a sub-state quarterfinal matchup Tuesday, after having played Hutch Trinity just one week prior in the final game of the regular season.
In the teams? first meeting, despite losing 45-36, Marion held the advantage after one quarter of play and at halftime. But this time around, it was not to be.
This time, Trinity built an 11-0 advantage out of the gate when Marion missed shots and committed turnovers. Bailey Robson scored a three-pointer to get the Warriors on the board, and Kirsten Hansen followed with a basket off a steal. The Celtics scored five unanswered points before Kaelyn Thierolf made a basket for a 16-7 score by the end of the period.
Things went downhill in the second quarter as the Celtics increased their lead to 28-9 out of the break when Marion managed only two free throws in more than six minutes of play. During that time, Hansen suffered an injury and did not return the duration of the game. Katey Ehrlich scored the Warriors? first basket of the quarter with 1:19 to go, and Megan Richmond grabbed a steal and scored. The Celtics made the half?s final basket for a 30-13 margin at intermission.
Ehrlich scored six of Marion?s nine third-quarter points, but by the end of the quarter, the Celtics had increased their lead to 45-22.
The Celtics drained a three-pointer to start the final quarter, then Ehrlich chipped in two free throws and Julia Hall scored. The teams traded three-pointers and Richmond scored Marion?s final two points from the charity stripe with 1:56 to play. The Celtics made one last basket with less than a minute to play for the final, 53-31, margin.
Ehrlich led Marion with 11 points.
With the loss, the Warriors conclude their season with a 9-12 overall record.
