The Marion girls? basketball team opened Heart of America league play with a 1-1 record after a victory over Canton-Galva and a loss to Hutchinson Trinity.
Hutch Trinity?Marion led through three quarters of play Friday, but the fourth quarter proved fatal as the Celtics scored 10 unanswered points to take the lead for good and hand the Warriors a 32-27 loss.
?The girls played hard like they always do, I think, but there is of course disappointment that we didn?t finish it out,? Robson said. ?I told the girls at the end, ?Learning how to win is just that, you have to learn how to do that.?
?We had turnovers in places that you wish you wouldn?t have them, but I?m not down on (the girls) at all. We held a really good team down to 32 points. I?ll take that.?
Marion got off to a fast start, limiting Trinity to just one point in the first quarter. Elizabeth Meyer kicked off Marion scoring with back-to-back baskets, and with Trinity shots refusing to fall, the Warriors built a 10-1 lead by the first break.
Marion?s run continued into the second quarter as Julia Hall gave the Warriors a double-digit, 12-1, advantage with a basket at 6:16. The Celtics made their first field goal with 4:27 left in the half, but that was the start of an 11-3 flourish that left Marion clinging to a 15-12 lead at halftime.
The Warriors maintained the advantage the duration of the third quarter, outscoring Trinity by two to take a 23-18 lead into the final period.
Then Marion went cold. With the Warriors unable to get a shot to fall, Trinity took advantage. Carried by Brooke Racette, who scored 10 consecutive points including back-to-back three-point plays, Trinity left Marion stunned and trailing, 28-23, with 1:57 to play.
Kourtney Hansen scored Marion?s first points of the quarter with 1:40 left in the game, but with a few missed shots and turnovers, the Warriors did not score again until just 3.5 seconds remained. By that time it was too late, and Trinity pulled off the five-point win.
?Early in the game, that was the best offense we?ve probably run all season, (against Trinity?s) man-to-man,? Robson said. ?Having said that, then late in the game, when we do have a five-point lead or a three-point lead and they?re playing zone, there?s no reason for us to get all excited about jamming passes inside, and we did. We tried to throw too many pressure kind of passes, and we just should?ve relaxed a little bit there. We just need to learn to understand those situations.?
Marion shot 34.2 percent from the field (13-38), while Trinity shot just 24.5 percent (12-49), including 0-for-12 from three. Kourtney Hansen led Marion with eight points.
Canton-Galva?Marion opened Heart of America league play with a 56-49 victory Tuesday. In a game filled with turnovers by both teams, the Warriors overcame a slight deficit heading into the final quarter to win by seven.
It was a back-and-forth battle at the start. Bailey Robson scored with 4:10 left in the opening quarter that gave Marion an 8-6 advantage. With a spell of chilly shooting and turnovers by both squads, neither team scored again until less than one minute remained in the period. Marion closed with a 6-2 run in the final 58 seconds for a 14-8 advantage at the first break.
The Eagles twice closed the gap to within one point in the second quarter, including 19-18 after Cassidy Enns contributed a traditional three-point play at the 3:09 mark. Marion maintained the lead, though, and took a 24-20 lead into the locker room at halftime.
With the Warriors in front, 30-24, after Julia Hall scored, Kelli Nightingale made a basket that was the start of a 15-3 Canton-Galva burst that put the Eagles in front, 39-33, with 1:07 left in the third quarter.
From there, Marion rallied, closing the period with a Kristen Herzet bucket and three-point play by Kourtney Hansen?the start of an 18-4 Warrior run?which brought Marion within 39-38 heading into the final quarter.
Marion outscored the Eagles 18-10 in the fourth quarter and took the lead for good after Hall made a basket and followed with a pair of free throws for a 42-41 score. The Warriors led by as many as 51-43 and went on to win by seven.
Coach Kelly Robson said he was pleased with the way his team rallied from the six-point deficit.
?The girls did a nice job of responding,? he said. ?We went to the basket kind of hard a time or two right in that stretch, had a couple of good possessions (and) got to the free-throw line a few times.
?I was very proud of them for coming back from that because some teams would kind of go, ?It?s just not our night,? but this team came back nicely.?
Julia Hall led Marion with 14 points. Kourtney Hansen added 11. Canton-Galva?s Cassidy Enns was the game?s leading scorer with 23 points. Kelli Nightingale added 18.
Coming?Marion (1-1, 3-4) was scheduled to play at Berean Academy Tuesday and will travel to Inman Friday.
