The Marion girls? fourth-quarter rally fell short, as the Warriors lost, 49-44, to Bennington Friday.
Marion took the lead out of the gate, and held a 4-2 advantage when Kourtney Hansen scored at the 6:59 mark. But after that, when Marion shots refused to fall, Bennington enjoyed an 11-0 run, which included back-to-back three-point plays by Kayla Schlachter?to lead by nine. The Bulldogs led, 16-7, at the end of one.
Kirsten Hansen and Kourtney Hansen scored two baskets sandwiching a Bulldog turnover to cut the margin to five, but the Bulldogs hit a pair of free throws and two three-pointers to claim a 24-11 lead. Elizabeth Meyer and Kristen Herzet scored Marion?s final points of the quarter, and the Warriors trailed, 27-17, at intermission.
Bennington hit five three-pointers in the first half.
With Marion trailing, 33-21, after a three-point play by Schlachter, the Warriors capitalized on three Bulldog turnovers, closing the gap to 33-27 after Kourtney Hansen and Kirsten Hansen combined for six points. But the Bulldogs built their lead to 40-29 heading into the final break.
?I was trying to get the girls to drive more to the basket like we?ve had success in some games,? coach Kelly Robson said. ?There were times we did, and we got a few fouls, and we got to the free-throw line. Made enough free throws. I think that helped us close it down, but then I think we ended up fouling them a time or two, which let them stretch that back out again.?
The teams traded scores, and the Warriors trailed, 46-35, with 2:12 left in the game. Then Marion stepped on the gas, ending the game with a 9-3 run.
Meyer made two free throws and Bennington made one to put the margin at 10 with 1:05 to play. Then, Erika Hess drained a three, Meyer made two free throws and Kourtney Hansen scored, all in a 12-second span, thanks to Bulldog turnovers. That put Marion within 47-44 with 35.6 left. But Marion?s final three shots missed, and the Bulldogs sealed the win with two free throws.
?Seemed like every time they threw it in to (Schlachter), something was happening,? Robson said. ?I felt like we were playing decent defense with our hands up, and we just kept getting called for that, and on the other hand, we couldn?t, on the offensive end, seem to convince ourselves to go try to do the same thing. It?s frustrating for the girls, I know it is, but they hung in there.?
Meyer led the Warriors with 13 points. Kourtney Hansen scored 12 points and had nine rebounds. Schlachter scored 23 points for the Bulldogs, including 13 from the charity stripe.
Remington?Marion fell behind from the start in Tuesday?s 53-35 loss.
Remington burst out of the game on fire offensively, making five of its first six field goal attempts and staking a 13-0 lead. Kirsten Hansen hit a three to put Marion on the board with 2:22 left in the opening quarter, but the Broncos built a 19-6 advantage by the end of the first period.
?We said we had to make it an outside shooting contest, and low and behold, (Remington) made their first three, four, five shots from outside the lane, and if that?s going to happen, that team?s hard to defend,? coach Kelly Robson said. ?We tried to force them to shoot from the outside, and they were making those shots.?
The Warriors matched the Broncos? scoring more closely in the second quarter. Three-point baskets by Bailey Robson and Erika Hess helped Marion trim the deficit to 24-14 with 4:25 left in the half. But an 8-3 Bronco surge left the Warriors trailing 32-17 at halftime.
The Warriors forced four Bronco turnovers in the first five minutes of the third quarter but could not capitalize. Remington outscored Marion 12-11 in the period. Julia Hall contributed six points in the quarter, and Marion trailed, 44-28, heading into the final period.
Remington built to its largest lead of the night, 52-30. Marion scored its next three points from the charity stripe. Remington made a free-throw, then Marissa Jacobson concluded scoring with a basket with just 3 seconds left on the clock.
Hall led the Warriors with eight points. Three Broncos scored in double figures: Kristyn Wedel 16, Kelcey Hinz 14 and Jasmine Ingalsbe 11.
?We knew it was going to be a tough one,? Robson said. ?We?re going to make it about our inner battle, so to speak, about trying to become a better basketball player. Don?t let the things that go wrong in a game frustrate you. No matter what the score is, keep up the fight, and I thought we did that for almost 100 percent.?
Coming?Marion (2-4, 6-10) was scheduled to play at Moundridge Tuesday and will travel to Ell-Saline Friday.
