Warrior girls outlast Cardinals
Sports reporter
Heading into the fourth quarter Friday of the Marion High School girls' basketball team's game against Hoisington, it didn't look good.
Trailing by eight to an older Cardinal team, the Warriors had a strong fourth quarter, and a shot by Kayley Heerey with 13.7 seconds left pushed the game into overtime.
Kimber Hardey's two free throws with 13 seconds left gave MHS the lead for good at 53-52, and the Warriors tacked on one more point before claiming the victory.
"I was extremely pleased we were in a close game and didn't panic," MHS coach Randy Savage said.
Faced with pressure situations earlier in the season, the Warriors let a few games slip away.
Not Friday.
In fact it wasn't until the end of the game when the Warriors even had a lead that could slip away.
It was the fact the team fought back in a pressure situation that impressed Savage.
Trailing 37-29 heading into the final quarter, MHS outscored Hoisington 18-10 to force overtime.
The Warriors scored the first point of overtime, and held on for the victory.
Savage was pleased his team won and improved to 2-1 in the Mid-Central Activities Association and 4-5 overall, but knows he still has some things to go over with his team.
"There were lots of little things," he said. "If we fix half a dozen things and execute them completely, we win by 12 or 14."
Still he was glad to see 17 points from leading-scorer Julia Zeiner, and another 14 from senior Kimber Hardey.
She constantly battled with the Cardinal girls underneath, and was 6-8 from the free-throw line.
"Kimber had a heckuva game," Savage said. "She was nails for us."
Lindsay Hett continued to run the offense efficiently, and played strong defense throughout.
Her defense on the final inbound pass kept the Cardinals from having a good look to try and tie the game.
Savage said he heard her directing her teammates throughout the game.
"If she isn't one of the top five point guards in the league, I'll eat my hat," he said.
However, it was another balanced effort that contributed to the victory.
Five girls scored in the first quarter (Hardey five, Kristen Steinborn four, Hett and Lauren Helmer two, and Zeiner one), as the Warriors led 14-11 at the first break.
An 18-6 second quarter for Hoisington seemed to take the life out of the MHS squad.
Finally, it seemed to make the girls mad enough to come back with a fury in the fourth.
"We're getting better," Savage said. "We're taking steps forward.
The first-year coach realizes his team is still one of the younger ones in the MCAA, and it is still adjusting to the change in coaching positions.
He takes the blame for things such as needing to work on inbound passes, taking smarter shots, and turning the ball over.
"That's my fault," Savage said. "We're not getting enough reps."
But after the game he still let the girls know he feels they can play even better.
He said he told them two things.
"You played an ugly game, and you won," he said. "And it was a high-pressure game against an older team, and you didn't panic."
For now, that's enough said.
The Warriors were in action Monday at the Trojan Classic, and will continue playing until Saturday.
