Marion earns first victory at Centre

MHSgbbAtCentreVsWhiteCity021

MHSgbbAtCentreVsWhiteCity021

The Marion girls lost to Hope and Wakefield in the first two rounds of last week?s Cougar Classic at Centre, but they picked up their first win of the season in the seventh-place game against White City on Saturday for a 1-10 record.

?I won?t give up on them as long as they keep playing hard,? coach Randy Savage said. ?And I don?t think they?ll give up.?

Marion 36, White 29

Marion enjoyed the sweet taste of victory with a solid win against White City on the final day of the tournament.

?We shot the ball a little better today and played pretty well defensively,? coach Randy Savage said. ?We just got some shots to fall.?

The game started sluggishly on both ends of the court, as White City managed a 9-6 lead by the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Marion found its spark to outscore the Huskies, 10-6. Katey Ehrlich, Whitney Gordon and Kaelyn Thierolf scored to chip away at White City?s lead. When Thierolf scored at 2:38, Marion claimed a 16-15 lead.

But the Huskies scored six points in the last two minutes of the half to lead 21-16 at the break.

Ehrlich scored on a layup to start the second half, kicking off a strong third quarter performance that saw Marion outscore White City, 7-4.

Gordon followed Ehrlich?s basket with a free throw, and Erin Meierhoff scored at 6:23 to tie the game, 21-21.

Gordon tied the game agains at 1:30, then gave Marion a 25-23 lead at 3:16. White City slipped in another basket to tie the game at the end of the third quarter.

Baskets by Ehrlich, Meier?hoff and Thierolf gave the Warriors a 31-27 lead at 5:18.

Gordon scored five points in the last five minutes of the game to secure Marion?s first victory.

?If we play like that, we can compete,? Savage said. ?We?ve competed with some good teams, but we?ve never been able to play a full four quarters, and we were closer to that tonight.?

Gordon scored 16 points and Thierolf and Ehrlich each added eight to pace the Warriors.

?I?m glad they got the win,? Savage said. ?They?ve been scrapping really hard and they could have just given up. They keep doing that, they?ll keep getting better.?

Wakefield 37, Marion 32

Marion lot to Wakefield in Friday?s second round.

?We were 10 of 37 from the floor, 10 for 15 from the free-throw line and had a boatload of fouls,? coach Randy Savage said to explain the loss.

?We played pretty well defensively, we just had too many fouls and the ball wasn?t falling in the hole. That happens.?

The Warriors led 11-9 at the end of the first quarter. But Wakefield came out for a strong second quarter, claiming a 23-15 lead by halftime.

Marion narrowed the lead to 28-22 at the end of the third period. Though the Warriors outscored Wakefield, 10-9, in the fourth quarter, it was not enough to overcome the second-quarter deficit.

Katey Ehrlich led Marion with 12 points, and Whitney Gordon chipped in nine.

?It was close all the way, we had our chances,? Savage said. ?But we got closed up pretty tight in the third and fourth quarter and just couldn?t get the ball to fall.?

Hope 45, Marion 26

The Warriors could not overcome unbeaten Hope in the first round of the tournament.

?A lot of things were done pretty well, but it still comes down to, I don?t want to say bad decisions, but the right decision a little too late,? coach Randy Savage said.

?They are looking in the right spot, but we?ve got to think of it a bit quicker.?

The Warriors kept pace with Hope in the first quarter, limiting the Lions? lead to 12-9 at the end of the first period.

Katey Ehrlich started the second quarter with a basket at 7:41, and Kaelyn Thierolf scored 1:20 later to give Marion a 13-12 lead. Hope scored four points to go back on top before Ehrlich scored again to make it 16-15.

But then the tide changed. Marion allowed 11 unanswered points over the next three minutes as Hope grabbed a 27-15 lead.

Kelli Hess finally made two free throws at 1:24, but the damage was too severe for the Warriors to overcome. The Lions scored twice more to make it 31-17 at halftime.

Hope outscored Marion 6-1 in the first four minutes of the third period to lead 37-18.

Ehrlich drained a three-pointer with four minutes left, but the Lions scored six more points to outscore Marion 12-4 in in the third quarter.

Both teams struggled to score in the final period. With 4:40 ticking off the clock, Hess hitting from beyond the arc.

Hope scored with eight seconds left to make it 45-24, but Erin Meier?hoff sank a long jump shot at the buzzer for the final score.

Ehrlich and Hess led the Warriors with seven points each.

?They?re doing a lot of things well, and it?s just a repetition thing,? Savage said. ?It?s all repetition. You have to play the game.?

Coming?The Warriors are scheduled to host Council Grove at 6 p.m. Thursday.

See hillsborofreepress.com for same-night coverage.

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