Sterling steals two wins from Marion

Marion lost two games to Sterling Friday night. The girls lost, 65-52, and the boys lost, 95-69.

Corrina CrabbGirls—Twenty-three first-half turnovers spelled trouble for the Marion girls Friday as the visiting Black Bears defeated the Warriors, 65-52.

Three minutes into the game, Marion trailed only by three, 7-4, as Alli Molleker made the Warriors’ first two baskets, but after that, Marion turned the ball over on nine consecutive possessions. Sterling scored just four points at the charity stripe during that time, meaning the game was still in reach when Sam Richmond broke Marion’s drought with a three-pointer with 55 seconds left in the opening period. Marion trained, 13-7, at the first break.

Turnovers continued to pile up for the Warriors, though, as Sterling’s Taya Wilson heated up at the other end of the floor. Wilson made three three-pointers in the second quarter, as well as all eight free-throws she attempted. After Kourntey Hansen scored one minute in, Marion endured a 5:37 stretch with no field goals—and only one attempt—while turning the ball over nine times. Three made free-throws kept the Warriors from going completely scoreless. Corin Parmley broke the drought with a basket at the 1:26 mark, but the damage had been done. Sterling’s 24-7 effort left Marion trailing, 37-14, at halftime.

Marion outscored Sterling, 19-18, in the third quarter but only after the Black Bears increased their lead to 45-16 two minutes in. Marion ended the quarter by outscoring Sterling 17-10 as Molleker and Sam Richmond drained three-pointers during that time. Corrina Crabb scored six points in the quarter, which ended with Marion trialing, 55-33.

Marion closed the gap with a 19-10 fourth-quarter effort. The Warriors scored the quarter’s first seven points to draw within 55-40, led by Kourtney Hansen with five points, forcing Sterling to call timeout. When Richmond hit a three-pointer with 1:36 left, Marion was within 61-49, and Parmley trimmed it farther with a trey, 63-52. That was as close as Marion got, however, and the Warriors lost by 13 in the end.

Wilson led all scorers with 28 points, including making 14-for-14 attempts at the charity stripe and four three-pointers. Parmley and Molleker shared top scoring honors for Marion with 11 points each.

Zachary StuchlikBoys—A sharp-shooting Sterling squad handed Marion a 95-69 loss Friday. The Black Bears made 15 three-pointers, 11 of which came from Lucas Briar and Kenan Comley in the first three quarters of play.

Sterling took a 20-11 lead after one quarter of play, then the three-point shooting barrage took center stage. The Black Bears made seven treys in the second period, including three in a one-minute span to build their lead to 30-13, and later, three by Briar in a 1:18 stretch. Chase Stringer and Sam Zinn scored the last two baskets of the half, leaving Marion trailing, 50-30.

Stringer scored six of Marion’s first eight points of the third quarter, but Sterling hit five more threes, and the Warriors couldn’t keep up. By the end of the third period, Marion trailed, 77-52.

Stringer scored 10 of Marion’s final 17 points, and both teams cleared their benches en route to the final, 26-point spread.

Stringer led all scorers with 30 points. Zachary Stuchlik scored 14. Meanwhile, Briar led the Black Bears with 28 points. Comley scored 21.

Coming—Marion will host Sedgwick Tuesday.

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