Paragould girls outshoot Lady Patriots to win 5A East clash

Second half stumbles allow Rams to pull away from Marion, win 52-22

By Chuck Livingston

Marion School District

Marion head girls basketball coach Shunda Johnson isn’t afraid to push a few buttons if things aren’t clicking for her group.

The latest example came Tuesday night. Coming off of a 10-day break due to winter weather, and looking to remain in the hunt for the 5A East title, Johnson inserted a new starting group and installed a new press in time for Marion’s home date with Paragould.

The tactic paid immediate dividends, as Marion forced 35 Paragould turnovers, and only allowed the Lady Rams to make four field goals after halftime to pull away for a 5222 victory at Fidelity Bank Arena. The Lady Pats (10-6 overall, 2-2 5A East) only gave it away 17 times and outrebounded the Lady Rams (1-15, 0-4) 28-18.

“I was glad we were able to play 12 girls tonight, and everyone came in and did their job,” said Johnson. “We didn’t really lose a step tonight, no matter who came in for us, and that’s so massive.”

Of the 12 players to appear, 11 Lady Patriots scored, led by Joniya Lewis’s eight points and six rebounds, Maryah Rucks’ seven points and six boards, and six points from Survanna Clay.

Paragould got seven points and five boards from Maddie Harrell, six points from Hallee Benson, and four points from Hadley Luke.

The Lady Rams took their only lead of the night with 4:21 left in the first period when Harrell canned a threepointer for a 5-2 lead, but Marion closed the opening stanza out on a 9-0 run to lead 11-5 after the first eight minutes. Marion’s spurt began when Ny’Asia Jackson hit a layup before dishing to Z’Kya Cheers for a three-pointer.

Jackson then assisted on layups from Lewis and Jalee Meeks to set the score entering the second quarter.

Marion’s lead hit 14-5 early in the second, but the Lady Rams scored six in a row to get within 14-11 with 4:40 left in the first half.

That’s when Marion closed out the half by making five of six free throws, and when Ayanna Hayes hit a layup that just beat the halftime buzzer, Marion enjoyed its first double- digit lead (25-14) at the break.

Marion turned Paragould over 24 times before halftime.

“We sent out two groups tonight, and they each had different assignments,” Johnson

See PATS, page A10 PATS

From page A7

explained. “One of the groups brought it to the frontcourt, which was a good call. We knew their primary ball-handler was a good player, so wewanted to speed her up the best way we could.”

Marion put the game away in the third period, scoring nine of the first 11 points of the quarter, which sparked a larger 20-4 run as the hosts’ lead reached 44-18 following a Lewis layup, and Marion led 44-20 entering the fourth period. The Lady Pats scored the first eight points of the fourth quarter to initiate the sportsmanship rule. In all, Marion allowed Paragould to make just four of its 15 second-half field goals, and the Lady Pats forced 11 turnovers in the third and fourth periods.

“We challenged our team not to let them score in the second half,” said Johnson. “We know how we defend when we set our minds to it. I liked most of what I saw tonight in every phase.”

WHAT’S NEXT?

Marion travels tonight to play Greene County Tech in a game that was originally scheduled for Friday, January 19. The junior varsity boys and girls game will tip at 5 p.m., followed by the varsity girls around 6 p.m. The varsity boys game will tip around 7:30, and the varsity girls and boys games will be broadcast live at MarionPatriots. com and on the Marion Patriots Activities Network YouTube Channel.

5A EAST RESULTS FROM 1/23

Marion 52, Paragould 22 Greene Co. Tech 45, W. Memphis 33 Searcy 55, Batesville 45 Nettleton 53, Valley View 40

5A EAST STANDINGS

Greene Co. Tech 4-0 Searcy 4-1 Nettleton 3-2 Marion 2-2 W. Memphis 2-2 Valley View 2-3 Batesville 1-4 Paragould 0-4