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Thursday,
December 2, 2010 |
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Marshall teams fall short at Myrtle By BARRY
BURLESON
The Marshall Academy versus Myrtle games Monday night, Nov. 22, were not decided until the closing seconds. The Lady Patriots, playing without a pair of seniors, lost a 52-49 nail-biter on the road. The Patriots, who trailed by 19 points in the third quarter, rallied to tie the game late only to see the Hawks win 86-84 at the buzzer. The Lady Patriots were down 19-12 after one quarter and fell behind by as many as 10 in the second quarter. Kelsey Shaw caught fire in the second quarter. Her back-to-back threes gave MA a 25-23 lead with 3:40 left in the half. But the Lady Pats trailed 30-27 at halftime and 38-36 following three periods. Myrtle maintained a two- and one-point advantage through the fourth. Two free throws from the home team with five seconds left secured the three-point win. Shaw gunned in 23, including four three-pointers. Emma Elgin followed with 12. Elizabeth Skelton added 10. Lady Patriots Callie Clanton and Lauralee Fant were in New York City last week for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, participating as all-star cheerleaders. “It would have been easy for the girls to have been satisfied with the Pine Grove win (the Saturday before), especially facing a tough opponent without a full squad,” coach Craig Dailey said. “They did what I expect and that is to give their maximum effort. “The girls should get a lot of confidence from this showing. We came within an eyelash of pulling off a tremendous upset.” Back on November 9 in Holly Springs, the MA girls had lost to Myrtle by 22. The Marshall boys stayed close to the Hawks early. But Myrtle snatched the momentum late in the first quarter and stretched its lead to 45-30 at the midway point Monday, Nov. 22. With 4:15 to go in the third, Robert Montgomery’s three gave the home team a 59-40 advantage. But the Patriots did not quit. Kevin Fitzpatrick’s putback got the deficit to under 10, at 66-57. Then Brad Bennett’s three got MA to within 68-62 at the end of the third period. The Pats stayed within striking distance in the fourth. A long-range shot from the corner by Aaron McAlexander cut the deficit to 79-78 with 2:30 remaining. Fitzpatrick tied the contest at 84 on two free throws with eight seconds to go. But as time expired, Myrtle’s Heriah Dodson drove to the hoop and scored. Free throws proved to be the Patriots’ downfall. They were a poor 15 of 29. Myrtle was 33 of 42. Sixteen of the Hawks’ 18 fourth-quarter points came from the line.
Taylor Maurey was MA’s top scorer with 21. Bennett contributed 19, Chase Ferrell 16 and Jordan Brock 10. “It was another game for the ages,” Coach Dailey said. “If you can’t enjoy these matchups, then you just need to stay home. “It was one of the better comebacks my teams has had ina long time. We could easily have laid down at the half. The boys showed their character by storming back. “Our 32-point third quarter says a lot about our potential. We just need to refine what we do. “Myrtle is Myrtle – a lot of tradition from way back to my playing days and a notoriously tough place to play. This was good practice for Brookhaven.” On November 9 at home, the Patriots had beaten Myrtle by five in overtime in Holly Springs. MA versus Oak Hill The Lady Patriots rallied from a nine-point deficit at the half to send the game to overtime and lost 47-45. The MA girls led 4-0 early on Shaw’s two buckets. They trailed 8-7 after one. They fell behind by as many as 12 early in the third quarter. Then a putback from Lane Cunningham trimmed the deficit to 24-21 with 3:42 to go in the quarter. MA grabbed a 32-29 lead at the 4:41 mark of the fourth on Shaw’s three. But back-to-back turnovers gave the momentum and the lead back to the Lady Raiders. Megan Anderson calmly nailed two free throws to get MA back to within one with 11 seconds remaining. Then Shaw drove to the bucket and scored at the horn to send the game to OT knotted at 37. Marshall never led in the extra period and fell by two.
Shaw led the offense with 21 points. Elgin was close behind with 15. “This was a very gutsy showing against a very solid team,” Dailey said. “We will face them again Saturday but even farther down the road, too, most likely. “The girls are playing at an extremely high level and I look for us to keep improving as we make our way to district play. I like our evolution as a team.” The Marshall boys, showcasing their deep roster, routed the Raiders 75-32. Maurey’s lay-up on a fast break put MA up 16-5 midway through the first period. It was 27-10 at the end of the quarter. The lead was stretched to 35-10 midway into the second quarter. It was 46-18 at halftime and 66-24 after three periods. Eleven Patriots scored. The only one in double digits was Maurey with 16. “The entire team played well,” Dailey said. “Standing 9-1 at the Thanksgiving break with the early season schedule we had is big. I am very excited about the potential of this team. We just have to get back to work and get better.” Schedule The Lady Patriots (7-5) and the Patriots host Magnolia Heights Thursday and travel to Oak Hill Saturday. Next Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 6-7, they host Fayette (Tenn.) Academy and West Memphis Christian, respectively. |
     
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