Staff writer
The Marion girls’ basketball team’s season ended Tuesday night in the first round of substate to Hutchinson Trinity Catholic High School.
The Warriors had played the Celtics just a week earlier and were able to lead Trinity through halftime. They eventually lost the lead and the game, 45-36.
This time around, the Celtics got off to a hot start, leading Marion 16-7 at the beginning of the second quarter.
“I’m not down on my girls, they’ve played hard all season long,” coach Kelly Robson said afterwards. “But when it goes down like that, it doesn’t get better very often.”
The game got worse from that point. Trinity went on a 12-0 run to lead by 20 before the Warriors recovered, trailing 30-13 at halftime. Marion also lost point guard Kirsten Hansen for the game due to a knee injury five minutes into the second quarter.
Trinity outscored Marion 15-7 in the third quarter, taking a 45-22 lead. The Warriors continued to play hard to the end, ultimately losing 53-31.
Robson said the team improved its rebounding, shooting, and turnovers, thanks to the leadership of seniors Katey Ehrlich, Kelli Hess, Kaelyn Thierolf, and Megan Richmond.
“Everybody tells me we played so hard, and that’s partially because of that senior leadership,” Robson said.