The Marion basketball teams fell short in their season openers at Southeast of Saline Friday. The girls lost, 48-25, while the boys dropped a 59-31 contest.
Girls?The Warriors started the game strong. Erika Hess opened scoring with a basket just 20 seconds in, and when Julia Hall fired off back-to-back baskets 9 seconds apart, Marion led 6-2. Bailey Robson drained two three-pointers in a 27-second span, and the first quarter ended with the Warriors in front, 15-10.
But Marion cooled from there. Leading 17-12 after Kourtney Hansen scored, Marion stalled. Turnovers and missed scoring opportunities contributed to a 10-0 Trojan run to end the second quarter, giving Southeast of Saline a 22-17 halftime advantage.
The third quarter saw more of the same. Kirsten Hansen hit a free throw to open the third quarter, but from there, the Trojans scored nine unanswered points for a 31-18 margin by the end of the third period.
With 6:13 left to play, Kirsten Hansen scored Marion?s first field goal since the second quarter. Although Warrior scoring increased in the final period, Southeast of Saline outscored Marion 17-7 and held a double-digit advantage the rest of the way.
Boys?With five new starters taking the court for the first time, the Marion boys lost, 59-31, to Southeast of Saline.
It took time for both offenses to get going, as neither team scored the first 2:38 of play. Nicholas Stuchlik scored the game?s first three points for an early Warrior lead, and when Bret Voth made a basket, Marion held a 5-1 advantage. But the Trojans took the lead less than a minute later with a three-pointer, the first of eight Trojan threes on the night. Aided by three more baskets behind the arc, Southeast of Saline enjoyed a 19-9 advantage at the end of the opening period.
The Trojans hit two more threes in the second quarter, but Marion drew within 25-19 after Dylan Pippin made a second-chance basket and Stuchlik followed with two free throws. The first half ended with the Trojans leading, 29-21.
Plagued by turnovers, Marion scored just 10 points after that. Mason Pedersen and Jacob Baldwin scored back-to-back baskets in the third quarter, but the Trojans widened the gap to 41-25 heading into the final quarter.
The Trojans capped a 7-0 run to start the fourth quarter with their seventh three-pointer of the night before Voth scored with 6:15 to go. From there, the Trojans fired off a string of 11 unanswered points before Pedersen drained a three-pointer with 2:57 left to play. Voth added a free throw for the final, 28-point margin.
Coming?The Warriors will host the Marion Classic next week. Marion will be in action Tuesday against Peabody-Burns. The girls? game is at 5:30 p.m. and the boys? game is at 7 p.m.
For scores and updates during basketball games, follow Janae on Twitter @janaerem13
