Lady Pats suffer heart-breaker to Lady Raiders

Lady Pats suffer heart-breaker to Lady Raiders

The Marion Lady Patriots fell two points short of knocking off the undefeated Nettleton Lady Raiders, Friday night

sports@theeveningtimes.com

With just six seconds remaining and trailing by two points, the Marion Lady Patriots (12-8 overall, 6-5 6A/5A-3 Conference) appeared poised to upset the undefeated Nettleton Lady Raiders (20-0, 12-0) Friday night.

Marie Hunter, who led Marion in scoring with 13 points, received an inbounds pass on the left wing of the three-point arch with six seconds left in play. Hunter heaved up a potential game-winning shot. To the Lady Pats dismay, the shot traveled past the basket and out of bounds; closing the door on any chance of the Lady Pats pulling the upset at home against the third ranked team in the state of Arkansas, according to MaxPreps.

Failed execution led to the misguided final shot, according to Marion Lady Patriots Head Coach Shunda Johnson.

“We had four designed plays,” Johnson explained.

“One of the four was going to be the go-to play. We just didn’t get it run. We actually had too much standing and too much dribbling.”

Everything appeared to be going smoothly for the Marion ladies until the 5:32 mark of the fourth quarter.

Just under three minutes into the final stanza and Marion leading 39-34, Nettleton’s Bailey Booker drilled a corner three which ignited the Lady Raiders on a 13-6 run to end the game.

After Booker’s three-ball, the Lady Pats expanded their lead to 6 points behind an offensive rebound converted into a basket by Mikiya McAdory and an assist by Hunter which led to a layup by Morgan Christian with 4:23 to play.

However, those represented the last field goals Marion would score in the contest. The Lady Raiders called a timeout and subsequently went on a 10-2 run to remain undefeated.

Johnson believes a lack of focus from the Marion ladies contributed to the Nettleton run.

“We got a little excited and between the time we were up by six and the end of the game we only took probably four or five shots,” Johnson said. “A lot of that comes to kids getting caught up in the game and not slowing down and trying to execute.”

Nettleton’s first lead since the second quarter came as Bre Sharp swished a pair of free throws with 45.2 seconds to play, putting the Lady Raiders ahead of the Lady Pats 47-45.

The Marion ladies struggles to end the contest surprised fans, as the Lady Pats led most of the match. After trailing by as many as 6 points early in the second quarter, Marion took control of the game early.

Jakkya Clay dished the ball to Tyquesha Selvy on the low post for a basket, making it 14-10 in favor on Nettleton with four minutes until halftime.

The assists and bucket sent the Lady Patriots on a 15-5 run, highlighted by several more buckets by Selvy, a couple jump shots by Hunter, an offensive rebound and put back by Anna Lee Parker and a score from the low post by Clay. The run led to a 2521 Marion advantage at the break.

Johnson believes assists played a big role in the Lady Pats ability to take the lead.

“They did a much better job of sharing the basketball,” Johnson stated.

“When they share the basketball, we score.”

Clay once again connected with 5:40 to play in the third stanza, to give the Lady Pats their largest lead of the game at 31-23.

However, 8 points by Lady Raiders’ Dasia Young and two three-balls by Booker carried the Nettleton ladies throughout the second half, eventually leading to the team’s fourth quarter, game-winning run. Booker blazed the way for the Lady Raiders in scoring, tying Marion’s Hunter to lead all scorers with 13 points. Young also sank some timely baskets for Nettleton, pumping in 12 points. Mya Love chipped in 9 points for the Lady Raiders in the victory.

Behind Hunters 13 points, Clay finished second in scoring for the Lady Pats after pumping in 12 points. Selvy contributed 7 points for Marion in the loss, all of which came in the second stanza. The Marion ladies look to rebound tonight as the team travels to battle against the Forrest City Lady Mustangs (4-15, 28). Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m. in Forrest City.

By Collins Peeples