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Lady Warriors put scare in Lions in close 50-46 loss years ago

Sports reporter

Marion fans could be forgiven if they had guarded expectations Friday when the Lyons Lady Lions stepped onto the Marion High School gymnasium hardwoods.

After all, Lyons had thoroughly dismantled the Lady Warriors, 78-55, in December, and Marion has been winless since then.

But displaying a newly-found tenacity that has marked their recent games, the Lady Warriors gave Lyons all they could handle until the final 20 seconds of the contest. Four late points helped the Lady Lions escape with a 50-46 win.

At the outset, it looked as if Lyons would repeat December's blitz, scoring three easy baskets to take a 6-0 lead.

Morgan Cady got the Lady Warriors on the comeback trail with Marion's first hoop at the 4:31 mark.

The Lady Warriors stormed to the lead, 11-9, on four consecutive baskets and a free throw by Julia Zeiner. Lindsay Hett nailed a three-pointer to increase Marion's lead to 14-9.

Lyons fought back to regain the lead early in the second quarter, 16-14, but Marion kept close by means of the three.

Treys by Erin Carr and Hett pulled Marion to within one, 21-20, and Lauren Helmer connected on a three-pointer with 23 seconds left in the half to knot the score at 23-23.

The hard-fought battle continued throughout the third quarter and into the fourth, with Lyons gradually building a seven-point advantage, 41-37, with 3:33 remaining in the game.

Rather than fold up their tents, the Lady Warriors reached deep for a response.

Hett popped in a three from the left corner, and Carr crashed the boards for a put back that cut the lead to two, 41-39, with 2:25 remaining.

Carr and Lady Lion Chelsea Kratzer swapped free throws before Damara Lewis dropped in a charity to give Lyons a 44-41 lead.

Lewis missed a second free throw, and fouled Zeiner on the rebound. Zeiner hit one of two shots to bring Marion back to within two, 44-42, with 52 seconds remaining.

The Lady Lions opened the door for Marion when Meg Kepka missed two free throws, and a foul on the rebound sent Zeiner to the line once again.

With 34.3 seconds showing on the clock, Zeiner calmly sank both charities, tying the score at 44-44.

Five seconds later, Carr picked up her fifth foul of the game while trying to set a trap, and Kratzer gave Lyons a 46-44 lead with two charities.

Marion punched right back, with Kalaya Jackson finding Zeiner on the right baseline for a soft jumper that tied the score one last time, 46-46.

The Lady Lions delivered the back-breaker following a time-out, when a Marion full-court press left Lewis all alone under the basket for an easy lay-up. Lyons tacked on two more free throws to account for the 50-46 final.

The Lady Lions won the game at the free-throw line, where they were 17-of-28 for the contest. Marion got to the line only 13 times, connecting on six.

Marion took 14 more shots than Lyons in the contest, but 33 percent shooting for the game kept the Lady Warriors from capitalizing on the advantage.

Zeiner poured in 20 points for Marion, followed by Hett with nine, and Carr with seven. Zeiner also dished out five assists, while Carr topped the rebounding chart with eight.

Nickerson 53, Marion 37

Marion was on the road Jan. 30 for a contest against Nickerson, and the Lady Warriors returned home on the short end of a 53-37 score.

Marion kept the game close for three quarters, trailing 38-30, despite poor shooting from the field and free-throw line. Nickerson used a 15-7 fourth quarter to put away the Lady Warriors.

Marion connected on only 15 of 48 shots for the game, just 31 percent. The Lady Warriors fared little better at the charity stripe, hitting four of 11 for 36 percent.

Zeiner led Marion scorers with 14, followed closely by Carr with 12. Helmer was the most productive Marion rebounder with six.

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