Lady Pats put out Lady Blazers

Lady Pats put out Lady Blazers

Marion girls bounce back from two- game skid with conference victory over Valley View

sports@theeveningtimes.com

The Marion Lady Patriots (9-6 overall, 3-3 5A/6A East Conference) returned to winning form following a two-game losing streak with a 55-44 victory over the Valley View Lady Blazers (4-9, 2-4) Friday night inside Patriot Arena.

The Lady Pats played explosively on offense from the opening tip-off.

Marie Hunter, Ashley Harney and Angel Davie all connected from long range as the trio accounted for three three-point baskets in the first half.

Davie’s deep ball represented three of her total 10 first half points. The early performance by Davie contributed to 28 total first half points for the Marion ladies. Lady Patriots Head Coach Shunda Johnson believes that Davie’s impressive defensive play contributed to her offensive outburst. “She made some good defensive stops,” Johnson said. “On the front line of the defensive press, she got a couple of key steals and turned them into scores.

That’s a real plus for Angel.”

More impressive than the offensive showing, however, might be the stifling defense put on display by the Lady Pats. The Marion team held the Lady Blazers to only 4 field goals and 13 total points during the first two stanzas. Johnson contributes Marion’s suffocating play defensively early in the game to the team’s ability to execute the press.

“We applied a lot of ball pressure,” Johnson said.

“We did a decent job of keeping the ball out of the middle. That’s important because once you get the ball to the middle of the press, it almost guarantees a press break.”

However, the Valley View offense found life after halftime. Rachel Wilson and Riley Fischbacker sank a total of three shots from behind the threepoint arch which allowed the Lady Blazers to put up 17 points in the third quarter.

Thanks to the explosive third stanza by the Lady Blazers and the Lady Pats only scoring 11 points in the quarter, Valley View cut the lead to a single digit 9-point margin heading into the final eight minutes of play.

The Lady Pats refused to let the Valley View team complete the comeback though, as Hunter led the ladies to a 16-point final stanza which sealed the victory for the Lady Patriots.

Reagan Dodd led the Lady Blazers in scoring, pumping in 14 points in the loss. Wilson finished second on the Valley View team in scoring, pushing through 13 points.

Davie blazed the way to victory for the Lady Patriots, leading all scorers with 15 points. A group of Lady Pats helped compliment Davie. Hunter finished the night second in scoring after knocking down 9 points. Jakkya Clay contributed 7 points, while Tashlee Milow and Morgan Christian accounted for 6 apiece.

The Lady Patriots are next scheduled for a conference matchup against the Paragould Lady Rams (116, 6-2) with tip-off slated for 5 p.m. Tuesday night in Paragould.

By Collins Peeples