After leading for most of the second half, Marion girls lost to Council Grove?ranked ninth in Class 3A?on a second-chance basket at the buzzer, 49-48, Thursday.
Neither team gained much separation in the first quarter. Marion trailed, 10-7, at the end. With the Braves leading, 12-11, they outscored Marion 8-2 midway through the second quarter for their largest margin, 20-13. Bailey Robson chipped in five points for Marion and the Braves led 22-18 at the half.
?I was happy with what we were doing to stay right in there,? coach Kelly Robson said. ?Defensively, we really tried to focus on where (Kate Hula) was. We let (Faith Brintle) get loose a couple of times for some three-pointers. We were trying to know where she was, we just weren?t getting quite there.
?Offensively, I thought the girls found some cuts and some layups and some good drives to the basket.?
Hess drained a three-pointer to open the second half, and Ehrlich followed with a basket when Brave shots refused to fall. A steal and basket by Hess put Marion in front, 25-22.
The Warriors maintained the lead until two free throws put Council Grove on top 32-31 with 42.3 seconds left in the third quarter. Kaelyn Thierolf was fouled on a basket at the buzzer and completed the three-point play to put Marion up, 34-32, going into the final period.
Hess hit another three pointer to start the fourth quarter, and a basket by Ehrlich gave Marion its largest lead of the night, 39-32, with 5:56 to play.
Council Grove?s Faith Brintle drained two threes in a span of 40 seconds for a 41-38 score. The Braves scored two more threes in the game, the second by Brintle to put her team ahead, 47-46, with 1:36 remaining.
After a Marion turnover, the Warriors sent the Braves to the charity stripe with 37.9 seconds to go. The one-and-one opportunity failed, and Ehrlich scored with 15 seconds left to give Marion a one-point lead.
Council Grove took a timeout with 7.9 seconds left. The ensuing shot missed the mark, but the Braves rebounded and scored at the buzzer for the win.
?I thought we played the last possession about as well as we could except we didn?t get that rebound,? Robson said.
Marion shot 42.5 percent from the field (17-40). Hess scored 16 points. Robson added 11 and Ehrlich 10.
Coming?Marion (0-2, 6-7) was scheduled to play at Remington?ranked sixth in Class 2A?Tuesday and will travel to Inman Friday.
