MURRAY – Focused on the ultimate prize, the Lady Marshals took another step toward repeating as the 1st Region champions in Thursday’s 51-29 win over Graves County while holding the Lady Eagles to their lowest point total of the season in the decisive win.
Under first-year Head Coach Lyndon Dunning, recently named KABC Region 1 Coach of the Year, the Lady Eagles finish the season 19-4.
Led by Cayson Conner’s eight first quarter points, the Lady Marshals were off to a great start, holding Graves County to just two points in the quarter. They wrapped up the 19-2 lead with Layne Pea making the first of two at the free throw line, the second miss rebounded and put back up and in by Sophie Galloway at the buzzer.
“To hold them to two points in the first quarter really let me know that our girls were focused and really going to stick to the game plan”, Coach Aaron Beth said.
Seven points from junior Ellie Carter gave the Lady Eagles a lift in the second quarter and they out-scored the Lady Marshals by five to cut the lead down to 12 at 27-15 at the halftime break.
The Lady Marshals grabbed the five points back in the third quarter to equal their 17 point lead at the end of the first quarter. Jada Driver’s five points and Halle Langhi’s four led the way in the 41-23 lead heading into the fourth.
Pea opened the fourth with two at the free throw line – she was 7-for-8 in the game. Conner followed with back to back lay-ins and it was the start of an 11-0 run to push the lead to 51-23. Graves County’s six points in the quarter were the final six of the game.
“We did some different things tonight and then our half court traps really bother them”, Beth said of their defensive effort. “We’ve got two or three different ones we use and some other stuff we fall back in to. We’ve practiced certain things for five or six weeks and haven’t used them until tonight. I like to save things for the regional tournament when you know you have to win or go home”
Conner and Langhi led the Lady Marshals with 13 points each. Ellie Carter led Graves County with seven points, all coming in the second quarter.
McCracken County beat Calloway County 64-54 in the second semi-final despite a big night for Lady Lakers’ eighth grader Skylar Waller with 33 points. Claire Johnson’s 22 points led the Lady Mustangs to their first-ever berth in the title game on Saturday against the Lady Marshals. The championship at the CFSB Center will get underway at 3:00.
“This is a veteran group… you know they won it last year”, Beth said. “Having six seniors just makes a tremendous difference when it comes to situations like this. I think we stepped up and took care of business like we knew we could tonight and now we’re looking forward to Saturday.”
Marshall County 19 8 13 11 – 51
Graves County 2 13 8 6 – 29
Marshall County: Conner 13, Langhi 13, Galloway 8, Pea 7, Driver 5, Jezik 5
Graves County: Carter 7, Jackson 6, Alexander 5, Myatt 4, Whitaker 2, Harris 2, Glisson 2, Youngblood 1
Marshall County (21-2): FG 18/31, 3 Pt 2/4 (Driver, Jezik), FT 13/17 (Pea 7/8, Galloway 4/5), Reb 25 (Galloway 7), AST 7, STL 10
Graves County (19-4): FG 9/30, 3 Pt 4/17 (Jackson 2), FT 7/11, Reb 13, AST 6, STL 7
