Hunter hits her mark

Hunter hits her mark

Marion senior Marie Hunter drills a game winning shot last Friday and, with Marion’s senior night coming up tonight, reflects on her senior season

sports@theeveningtimes.com

With sweat dripping in her eyes and her Marion Lady Patriots (17-8 overall, 11-5 6A/5A-3 Conference) tied up at 44 with 12 seconds left against the Valley View Lady Blazers (10-14, 7-9), Marie Hunter beat her opposing defender, received a pass from Tyquesha Selvy and knocked down the gamewinning shot from the left side of the free-throw line.

“I knew it was going in,” Hunter boasted. “I felt confident about it. I was in my comfort zone. That’s a shot I’m always working on.”

In fact, that shot from just inside the free throw line is so familiar to Hunter that knocking down the game winner against the Lady Blazers last Friday seemed like déjà vu, the Lady Patriots senior claiming that she even saw the ball going through the net before it left her hands.

That free throw line jumper is in a spot on the court that Marion Lady Patriots Head Coach Shunda Johnson refers to as Hunter’s “kill zone”.

“She got into what we call the ‘kill zone’.” Johnson explained. “That’s the area right in the gut of a zone defense, the extended free throw line area. That’s her shot.”

Hunter’s shot gave the Lady Patriots a 46-44 victory, their fourth victory in a row and eight wins in their last nine games.

That streak goes back to when a 9-6 Lady Patriots squad fell to their bitter rivals, the West Memphis Lady Devils, 58-54 at their home of Patriots Arena on January 10th. That loss sparked a desire in the Marion ladies to come together not just as a team but as friends.

“They wanted that first game against West Memphis so bad,” Johnson said. “I think they just kind of got together overall as a team and willed each other to practice harder and limit mistakes. They pulled together and started doing it for themselves as well as the team.”

While the Lady Patriots definitely got together on the hardwood, they did likewise off the court. A sleepover at Tashlee Milow’s house gave the ladies a unique opportunity to bond.

“We were up until about 2 a.m. just having a good time with each other,” Hunter reminisced. “We got to know each other more. We were just getting to know personal stuff about each other and having team bonding.”

Memories like that is something Hunter will miss most about her time in Marion.

The Lady Patriots sharp shooter plans to attend college this fall and has several offers. Alabama State, Eastern Kentucky, Lamar University and Georgia State have all made athletic scholarship offers to Hunter. However Hunter, who boasts a 3.4 GPA and is an honor roll student, still waits for an offer from her preferred school, Arkansas State University, to come in.

Wherever she attends college, Hunter looks to further her basketball career while earning a degree at the same time. Hunter is interested in receiving a sports medicine degree.

Sports Medicine is a subject Hunter is already very familiar with having suffered two torn menisci throughout her high school career.

The Lady Patriots senior has found a new confidence this season, playing in high school for the first time uninjured, according to Johnson.

“She has that confidence, now that she’s not injured, that she can go out and play and practice without the fear of injury,” Johnson stated.

Hunter attributes her ability to not worry about reinjury to her faith.

“I just have to go out there, play my game and pray to God that he keeps me injury free throughout the season,” Hunter said.

Hunter being healthy and being on the court is crucial to the Lady Patriots success, not just because of her precision shooting but because of her unexplainable passing ability.

“I have no earthly idea,” Johnson commented on how Hunter makes some of her passes. “She has great court vision. It’s nothing we taught her.

She’s always had the ability to pass.”

Hunter, who idolizes Jason Kidd, attributes her ability to dish the rock to her skillful reading of defenses.

“I see how the defense is set up and time how quick the defense can get there,” Hunter explained. “I just look at the goal to draw the defense in, but I’m really going to pass it. My teammates know me so well that they know if they are open for a split second, I’m going to pass it.”

Hunter expects to battle emotions as well as the Paragould Lady Rams (169, 11-5) tonight as she takes the hardwood of Patriots Arena for the last time.

The Lady Patriots defeated the Lady Rams in the first matchup between the teams this season, 43-38 on January 17th. However, both teams have improved since then. The Lady Rams are 5-2 since their last contest against the Lady Patriots, their biggest win coming two weeks ago against the previously undefeated Nettleton Lady Raiders (23-1, 15-1).

Johnson expects to see a better Paragould team than she did on January 17th.

“To be honest, I’m expecting everybody to be a little bit better the second go around,” Johnson declared. “We just have to continue being aggressive on defense and limit their offensive possessions.”

Accompanying Hunter in taking the hardwood of Patriots Arena for the last time tonight will be Jamerria Johnson, Anna Lee Parker, Jakyya Clay, Tyquesha Selvy and Shawnette Stewart.

Marion’s “Senior Night” against Paragould tips off tonight at 6 p.m.

By Collins Peeples