MHS girls take second place
Sports reporter
Although the ending wasn't exactly what the Marion High School girls' basketball team hoped for, the Inman tournament was a successful one for the Warriors.
MHS headed into the tournament Dec. 7 with a record of 1-0, and a senior-filled team too much for Burrton High School to handle. The Warriors cruised 73-46 in front of their home crowd.
Junior Toni Gordon dominated the Chargers inside scoring 21 points and grabbing eight rebounds.
Gordon wasn't alone on offense, getting help from two other seniors, Molly Rhodes and Leann Thomas. Rhodes scored nine points and grabbed seven rebounds, while Thomas had 14 points, four rebounds, and three assists.
"I think the closest they got to us was seven points," head coach Daryl Enos said after the game.
Despite the big victory, Enos wasn't exactly thrilled with the 27 turnovers and 28 fouls his team committed.
"We've got our work cut out for us on that part," he said.
On Thursday Marion held on to the ball better with only 16 turnovers, and committed four less fouls in a 63-52 victory against St. John.
Gordon and Thomas once again paced the Warriors. Thomas led Marion with 19 points and six rebounds, while Gordon scored 17 and hauled in seven rebounds.
As a team the Warriors connected on seven of 12 three-pointers, with Thomas hitting two and junior Allie Maddox knocking down three.
MHS led by five at halftime, and held on for the victory despite Chelsea Winger scoring 23 points for St. John.
After the two victories, the Warriors faced the Inman Teutons Friday who had a similar 3-0 record.
Inman jumped ahead to an early 12-2 lead and never looked back.
The Warriors shot only 27 percent from the field and missed seven of nine three- point attempts in the 50-36 loss.
"We just didn't show up," Enos said. "I think we were overly nervous about something."
He also said using different lineups in all four games may have contributed to the sloppy play, and could mean a set lineup is not far away.
It was the lowest scoring output for the 3-1 Warriors all season. Maddox was the only player in double figures with 12 points.
Senior Sarah Williams helped out with seven points and six rebounds, but it wasn't enough for the Warriors.
With the loss Marion still took second place in the tournament.
"Our press was better, and our steal rate was up," Enos said trying to find something positive out of the loss.
Gordon averaged 14.7 points and seven rebounds during the tournament to lead the way for Marion. Thomas (11.7) and Maddox (10.3) averaged double figures along with Gordon.
Marion played at Halstead last night and will take on Haven Friday at home.
