Lady Patriots set to hit the court this Thursday

Lady Patriots set to hit the court this Thursday

Marion bringing ‘ up- tempo’ game to Patriot Classic

Sports Editor The age-old adage in basketball is that it's better to be playing your best ball at the end of the season, in time for the state tournament.

The Marion Lady Patriots were nearly able to peak in March last year, starting league play just 1-9 with some lopsided losses to league heavyweights like West Memphis, Little Rock Central and North Little Rock, but they flipped the script down the stretch.

Marion won a thriller on the road against Searcy to clinch a berth in the tournament before throttling Benton by 30 points in the first round and falling in a 47-46 nail-biter to Russellville, host of the tournament, in the quarterfinals.

'I think that it obviously hurt us at the time, but could be good for us in the long run,' said fifth-year Marion head girls coach Shunda Johnson. 'After that game, I think we really felt a lot of hurt, but they liked playing in the tournament too. That's been on our minds since then.'

This year, Johnson has preached versatility for her fifth edition of Lady Patriot basketball, so that her team may be less vulnerable to bad match-ups in March.

'Our goal all summer has been how to learn to play two styles of basketball,' says Johnson, a West Memphis native. 'We like to play up-tempo, we want to go fast, but you can't expect to make deep runs if you can't also execute at a high level in the halfcourt set. It just can't happen. If we can make it back this year, and we can advance like we want to, then that'll be the reason why.'

When Marion takes the court on Thursday for its annual Patriot Classic at Patriot Arena, it will do so with some key returning players in the backcourt, as well as some talented newcomers.

With seniors Marie Hunter and Tyquesha Selvy back for their third tour of duty for Marion joining junior southpaw Ashley Harney at the guard, Johnson would have had a solid rotation at those positions.

Sophomore Tashlee Milow will rotate in at either guard spot, as will junior Angel Davie and senior Jamerria Johnson.

'Marie is giving us a look at the combo guard,' Johnson says. 'She's been a true point guard for us in the past, but we like her as a combo because she can really score. Angel will get a chance as a combo guard too, but everyone else is basically in their primary roles.'

Marion's guard rotation appears to be pretty deep, but the talent at the two forward spots also appears to be present. The Lady Pats will get contributions from all three classes on this team, primarily from sophomore Mikiya McAdory, Juniors Jahelia Byrd and Destiny Day and seniors Annalee Parker and Jakyya Clay.

Clay is Marion's leading returning scorer and rebounder after a breakout junior season. McAdory was one of Marion's better player on its junior high district runner-up team last year and Parker was a three-year All-State selection for Marion on the volleyball court.

'I'm looking at Clay to play the 3, 4 and 5 for us this year,' says Johnson.

'Mikiya is more of a post, she gets great position.

Jahleia Byrd has been a nice surprise so far, and has great upside, we're just looking for some consistency.'

Johnson said that she should be able to play big or small with her forwards. Marion has spent the past four seasons competing in the 7A/6A East, but that will change this winter as they transition into the 6A/5A East. The Lady Pats will continue to play rivals such as West Memphis and Jonesboro, but have swapped out North Little Rock, Little Rock Central and Cabot for teams such as Wynne, Blytheville, Forrest City, Paragould, Greene County Tech and Nettleton.

'I think an upside for our team is that they played a lot of the new schools when they were in junior high,' says Johnson.

'There won't be a lot of surprises as far as that goes. On the flipside, we also know how good those teams are. We have to have the right mindset when we play these games.'

Much like the volleyball format that was put into action this fall, the teams will play a full slate of round robin games against their 6A/5A East rivals and coaches will seed the teams based upon those results for the state tourna-Photo ment.

By Chuck Livingston