Warriors defeat Halstead for fifth straight win
Heerey's steal seals victory for MHS
Sports reporter
Marion High School girls' basketball coach Randy Savage had better check his blood pressure.
The Warriors may have improved to 6-1 in the Mid-Central Activities Association and 9-7 overall after a 60-56 victory Friday against Halstead, but it was once again a nail-biter down to the final seconds.
When head coach Randy Savage was asked after the game to describe the victory, all he could come up with at first was an "I don't know," and a laugh.
Maybe sophomore Kayley Heerey was trying to make the score not look as close as she sank at shot at the buzzer.
With two one-point victories in their past four games, maybe four points looked like a blowout for the Warriors.
It was anything but.
The Dragons had the height advantage on the Warriors with three girls on the floor ranging from 5'-9" to 6'-0".
"We don't have height," Savage said. "God gave us speed, we better not sit on it."
They didn't.
After a basket by Halstead gave the Dragons a 3-2 lead, Marion did not capture the lead again until Lindsay Hett's basket with six minutes, 22 seconds left in the game gave Marion a 49-48 lead.
From then on it was back-and-forth with the teams switching leads, and the game tied at 52, 54, and 56.
Halstead looked to be in command with the game tied at 56 with 1:08 to play. Instead, Malerie Hertzler threw the ball across the court and out-of-bounds while passing to a teammate.
The final minute then seemed to last as long as the first 31.
Hett was sent to the line after a foul with 49.2 seconds left. She connected on the first, but Kimber Hardey collected the rebound on the missed second free throw, and the Warriors had the ball again.
After Savage called timeout, the Warriors threw the ball around until Hardey and Zeiner both went after a pass. The two touched the ball together for a split second, and the referee called a traveling violation.
The Dragons had one last shot with 10 seconds left, but Heerey wouldn't even let them get off a shot.
She stuck her hand out in front of a pass, stole the ball, and drove down the court where she was fouled on the layup attempt.
The 85 percent free-throw shooter nailed one of two for a 58-56 lead.
After another Halstead turnover, Heerey nailed the last shot for a game-high 20 points. Hett added 18 points, and Zeiner had 15.
"We just had more patience on offense and we just played our game," Zeiner said.
Hardey added four points to the score column, Kristen Steinborn two, and Amanda Richmond one.
Senior Lauren Helmer was battling illness again, and played only 10 minutes.
Once again the players who did not score a lot of points still impressed Savage with hustle and good defensive play.
"It doesn't show up in the [box score}, but they played well," Savage said.
The victory insured a league record better than .500 for the Warriors with just four games left before sub-state. One more victory would secure at least a .500 overall record for Marion.
"They ought to feel good about that," Savage said.
It's becoming almost cliché, but the young Warriors seem to get better each game, using something they learned in the previous one to secure the victory.
"They just keeping playing," Savage said.
MHS played its final regular season home game ever in the current gym Tuesday against Smoky Valley, and will play its final three game of the season on the road.
The Warriors travel Friday to Wichita to take on Collegiate, Saturday to Haven for a make-up game with the Wildcats, and Tuesday to Hesston to wrap up the regular season.
