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Lady Warriors drop nail-biter to Halstead

Perhaps there's something about the hoopla surrounding homecoming festivities that brings out the best in the Marion Lady Warrior varsity basketball squad.

Exactly one week after narrowly losing their own homecoming tilt against Lyons, the Lady Warriors invaded Halstead Friday with hopes of spoiling the Lady Dragons' coronation ceremonies.

As the teams left the court at halftime, Marion was well on the way to doing just that, holding a 23-14 lead over the Lady Dragons.

While the Lady Warriors couldn't buy many baskets, hitting only six of 33 shots in the half, an outstanding 10-for-12 performance at the charity stripe helped Marion pull away in the second quarter.

The Lady Warriors battled their way to a 6-2 lead on baskets by Kayley Heerey and Julia Zeiner, but needed a late free throw from Kalaya Jackson to escape the first quarter with a 7-7 tie.

Erin Carr opened the second quarter with two free throws for Marion, starting the Lady Warriors on a 13-3 run over the next five-and-a-half minutes that vaulted them to a 20-10 lead.

Seven of those points came on a basket and five free throws by Julia Zeiner, who finished the game with 13. Morgan Cady and Heerey contributed baskets to the run as well.

Halstead trimmed the lead to six before Cady drained a late three-pointer to give Marion a nine-point advantage at the half.

Turnovers and poor shooting plagued Marion in the third quarter, as Halstead steadily chipped away at the lead.

With just under two minutes to go in the period, Lady Dragon Emma Hawkins scored the go-ahead basket for Halstead, 29-28.

Kimber Hardey immediately grabbed the lead back for Marion with a basket, and a Jackson layup and two Lauren Helmer free throws put the Lady Warriors back on top by five, 34-29.

Halstead reclaimed the lead for good, 43-42, when Ashley Douglas canned a three-pointer with just over two minutes left. The Lady Dragons extended the lead to four, 46-42, with under a minute remaining.

Carr drew the Lady Warriors back to within two, but Marion missed a chance to tie the game when Halstead intercepted an errant pass in the lane.

Douglas then tacked on two late free throws to give the Lady Dragons the 48-44 homecoming victory.

Douglas provided the bulk of Halstead's scoring punch, racking up 25 points. Zeiner was the only Lady Warrior to crack double-digits, while Carr had seven and Heerey added six.

Carr pulled down 11 rebounds, Lindsay Hett grabbed nine, and Zeiner had eight as the Lady Warriors outrebounded Halstead 45-42.

Haven 57, Marion 48

The Lady Warriors fell behind early in a Feb. 6 home contest against Haven, but kept the game close until a late third-quarter run sparked the Lady Wildcats to a 57-48 win.

Marion trailed 31-23 early in the third quarter, but trimmed the lead to three, 33-30, with four minutes remaining in the period.

It was as close as the Lady Warriors would get, as Haven used a late surge to build a 42-33 edge going into the fourth quarter, and extended the lead to as many as 15 points before settling for a nine-point win.

Zeiner topped Marion scorers with 14, while Hett, Carr, and Cady each collected seven.

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