DRAFFENVILLE – Marshall County and Murray High girls have met in the 4th District Tournament Championship game the last six straight years, Murray has won four of those six and Thursday won their third straight convincingly over the Lady Marshals to take the district title by a final score of 61-25.
Murray was led by three players in double figures, Maddie Waldrop with 16, Macey Turley 12 and Lex Mayes with 10 and they held Hannah Langhi to nine points in the game who surpassed 1,500 career points with her first basket of the game.
Murray led 13-8 at the end of the first quarter and the Lady Marshals cut it to a three point lead on a basket by Langhi to open the second quarter and that would be as close as they would get the rest of the game. Murray took advantage of several Marshall County turnovers in the second quarter, turning them into points, then killed the final minute, calling a timeout with 19.7 left on the clock and got the final basket of the half by Turley to lead 30-10 at halftime and hold the Lady Marshals to just two points in the quarter.
Langhi scored to open the second half to end the Murray 17-0 run that began on her last basket at the start of the second quarter. Down 21 points, Lexee Miller hit a three to cut it to 18 but the lead was back to 20 points on a basket by Turley and the Lady Tigers night continued to get better getting a three by Lex Mayes before the buzzer to lead 45-19.
Brittany Lawson hit a 3-pointer to open the fourth for the Lady Tigers to lead 47-19. Lady Marshals Head Coach Joseph Simmons sent his bench players into the game while Murray continued with their starters a while longer and built a 53-19 lead and in the final two minutes got the running clock on their way to a 36-point victory.
Both teams will advance to next week’s Region One Tournament at Murray State’s CFSB Center. Murray is the reigning Region One Champion, advancing last year to the final four of the state tournament.
SCORING
Murray: Waldrop 16, Turley 12, Mayes 10, Lawson 8, Burpo 5, Curtis 3, Burdine 3, Carver 2, Campbell 2
Marshall: Langhi 9, Henson 4, L Miller 3, Hicks 2, Powell 2, Gunn 2, Davis 2, W Miller 1
Murray: Field Goals 21/38, 3-pointers 7/12, Free Throws 12/16, Rebounds 18, Fouls 9, Assists 10, Turnovers 9, Steals 19
Marshall: Field Goals 9/28, 3-pointers 1/8, Free Throws 6/8, Rebounds 20, Fouls 14, Assists 2, Turnovers 23
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | |
| Murray | 13 | 17 | 15 | 16 | 61 |
| Marshall | 8 | 2 | 9 | 6 | 25 |
