Haven, Collegiate too strong for Warriors

The Marion girls basketball team lost at Collegiate 63-57 Friday and 56-43 at Haven Saturday, ending its run for a league title. The Warriors defeated Smoky Valley 56-48 on Tuesday, Feb. 12.

Haven?A 21-5 first-quarter run by the Wildcats put Marion on its collective heels, and the Warriors could not slow the Haven offense enough to mount a rally.

Trailing 32-22 at halftime, Marion was outscored by five in the third quarter but got two back with an 11-9 fourth quarter run. Lights-out 3-point shooting by Haven accounted for 21 points, 15 of which came in the opening period. Kayley Heerey led all scorers with 18 points, and Julia Zeiner scored 14.

Collegiate?Trailing 21-13 early in the second quarter, the Warrior girls rallied to take a 22-21 lead on a pair of foul shots by Bridget Lundy.

Amanda Richmond started the run with a 2-pointer after a Marion timeout. Julia Zeiner followed up with a traditional 3-point play 5:01 before the half.

An offensive rebound on the next possession gave Anna Laurin a good look at a layup, and she did not miss. Then came Lundy?s free throws, and Marion kept its foot on the gas.

Zeiner scored a pair of double bonus foul shots and threw in fast break layups at 2:10 and 1:33. She scored again with 1:08 left and finished the first half with 15 points.

A layup as time expired gave Collegiate one positive inch going into the half, and the Spartans took a mile in the third quarter, outscoring Marion 29-12 in the third quarter.

Back-to-back steal-and-score layups by Lindsay Hett jumpstarted the Warrior offense early in the fourth period, but the hole was too deep to climb out of.

Hett and Kimber Hardey strung together a 4-0 run with a layup and foul shots, respectively, and Marion trailed by eight.

After a Spartans basket, Hett and Zeiner strung four more points together, and Marion trailed 60-54 with 34 seconds left.

Though a pair of foul shots by Maddie Lower were decisive, Hett knocked down a 3-pointer in the left wing corner to make it 62-57 with 8 seconds left.

Coming?Marion wrapped up regular season play at Hesston Tuesday night. The sub-state round begins Monday.

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