Pats feeling 5-and-2

Pats feeling 5-and-2

Lady Bombers get revenge on Lady Pats

Special to The Times MOUNTAIN HOME The last time Marion faced the Mountain Home Lady Bombers, the Lady Patriots romped to a 23-0 lead and rolled to a lopsided victory. When the teams met again Tuesday night in 7A/6AEast Conference play, it was a 23-point fourth quarter by Mountain Home that helped the Lady Bombers gain revenge in the form of a 49-43 victory over the Lady Patriots at the Hangar.

The Lady Bombers hit two 3-pointers during an 80 fourth-quarter spurt and went on to hit 11 of 13 free throws down the stretch to take the league win, moving Mountain Home to 147 overall and 5-2 in conference action.

Marion – now 8-14 overall and 1-6 in league play – kept Mountain Home off the scoreboard for the first 12 minutes of its 47-25 victory over the Lady Bombers on Dec. 4 at the Focus Bank Knockout Classic in Paragould.

During that contest, the Lady Patriots roared to a 23-0 lead before Mountain Home even found the scoreboard, and Marion held a 29-6 halftime lead.

The only real drought the Lady Bombers suffered Tuesday night was a rough third quarter, where Marion scored seven straight to reclaim the lead. “A little over a month ago, this bunch beat us by 22, and it wasn’t even that close,” Mountain Home head coach Dell Leonard said. “They cleared the bench. For us to come that far is great. Any win is a great win in conference play.”

The Lady Patriots led 3029 when Mya McCray drained a 3-pointer with 6:43 left, but the Lady Bombers responded with a go-ahead bucket from Cassie Martin and a 3pointer by Hannah Pfeifer for a 34-30 lead with 5:04 remaining.

“We got together right outside the locker room with our coaching staff before halftime,” Leonard said, “and we talked about adjustments. We talked about doing some things, and our kids listened.”

Mountain Home’s biggest shot was with 3:10 remaining when Micah Hudson had a 3-point attempt tipped, and the ball banked in off the backboard for a 37-30 advantage – Mountain Home’s biggest yet.

Martin added two free throws for Mountain Home, but Telangula Boston and Kennedi Boykins combined to bring Marion within five again with 1:45 left.

Martin scored on a drive, but Boykins answered again with a 3-pointer from the top of the key to bring the Lady Patriots within 41-37 with 1:18 remaining.

Marion could not get a shot to fall on its next three trips down the court, meanwhile Mountain Home hit 5 of its next 6 free-throw attempts for a 46-37 advantage.

McCray and Boykins each hit 3-pointers in the final seconds for the Lady Pats.

Martin and Pfeifer led a balanced Mountain Home effort with 11 points each, while Maly Tabor added 10, and Vinessa Daniel and Hudson tallied eight apiece. Tabor, a sophomore, also notched 13 rebounds for a double-double.

Boston paced Marion with 14 points, and Boykins and McCray found double digits with 11 and 10, respectively.

The Lady Patriots used their size advantage early with the 5-11 Boston scoring eight points in the opening quarter.

Hudson and Pfeifer each hit 3-pointers to give Mountain Home an early 8-6 edge, but the Lady Patriots cleaned up the offensive glass, gaining putback baskets by McCray and Ebony Day for a 10-8 lead. Marion held a 14-13 lead going into the second quarter.

Tabor scored twice, the second time, giving the hosts a 17-16 edge. After another Marion bucket, Daniel and Hudson each scored to give the Lady Bombers a 21-18 halftime lead.

Marion held Mountain Home scoreless for much of the third quarter, scoring seven straight for a 25-21 lead.

Boykins scored three during the rally, and Boston and Jakyya Clay each scored in the paint for the Lady Pats.

Pfeifer was fouled while shooting a 3, and the sophomore hit all three free throws to bring the Lady Bombers within 25-24, and the hosts trailed 27-26 going into the final frame.

LADY PATRIOTS (8-14, 1-6) Boston 14, Boykins 11, McCray 10, Clay 4, Day 4. LADY BOMBERS (14-7, 5-2) Martin 11, Pfeifer 11, Tabor 10, Daniel 8, Hudson 8.

MARION 14 4 9 16 — 43 MHHS 13 8 5 23 — 49 Patriots 48, Bombers 45 The Bombers started slowly with Marion holding an 8-2 lead going into the second quarter. A putback by Howie Wehmeyer early in the first was Mountain Home’s only basket of the opening frame.

Marion held a 10-2 lead after a bucket by AJ Latham, and Mountain Home’s Luke Jackson hit a layup with 5:11 left in the half to end a drought of over 8 minutes for the Bombers.

The Bombers were within 13-9 on a 3-pointer by Jackson, but Marion received five straight from Jordan Barrow for an 18-9 advantage and went on to hold a 20-13 halftime lead. After being down by 10 in the third, the Bombers rallied within 25-19 on two free throws by Chase Ohler.

After a lengthy delay due to blood on the court, the Patriots pulled away to a 32-23 lead. But the Bombers received back-toback 3-pointers by Jackson and Ohler to climb within 32-29 to end the third.

Marion turned away the threat with buckets from Shaun Doss and Marlon Warren for a 36-29 advantage,

and Latham and Doss

each added pull-up jumpers for a 40-29 cushion.

Wehmeyer hit 1 of 2 free throws to end the 8-0 Marion run, and Chase Ohler and Luke Jackson added layups – the latter off a steal – to bring the hosts within 40-34 with under 4 minutes to play.

Marion led 42-34 when the Bombers used the 3pointer to rally again. After a bucket by Austin Jacobelli, Mitchell McDonald buried a trey to climb within 42-39.

Marion hit 1 of 2 at the charity stripe, and Jackson hit a 3 from the right corner with 1:03 remaining to bring Mountain Home within 43-42.

Doss scored in the paint at the other end, and after a Mountain Home miss, Latham hit two big free throws to push Marion’s lead to 47-42 with :29.2 left to play.

Doss added 1 of 2 at the foul line, and Mountain Home received one last 3pointer with :02 left from Jackson to set the final score.

Doss led Marion with 15 points, while Latham added 14. Jackson, a freshman, paced Mountain Home with 16 points, and Wehmeyer added 13.

PATRIOTS (10-8, 5-2) Doss 15, Latham 14, Barrow 8, Warren 6, Jackson 3, Mitchell 2.

BOMBERS (5-15, 1-6) Jackson 16, Wehmeyer 13, Ohler 9, Jacobelli 4, McDonald 3.

MARION 8 12 12 16 -48 MHHS 2 11 16 16 — 45

By Neal Denton The Baxter Bulletin