Lady Pats State Champs!

For the first time since 1997, the Marshall Academy Lady Patriots are state champions.

MA crushed Lamar Christian 50-28 in the Class AA title game Saturday night at Winona. That 22-point win followed 32- and 18-point victories earlier in the week, leaving no doubt who deserved the blue trophy.

“All of our hard work has paid off; it was worth every bit of it,” said Sam Wilkins, one of four seniors on the team.

“I can’t explain it. I feel like we have made everyone proud. It’s been 20 years.”

The other seniors on the state title team are Blake Martin, Hailey McMinn and Bryanna Miller.

The Lady Patriots, playing their patented pressure defense, took it to the Lady Lions from the get-go.

And the offense was clicking on all cylinders, too.

When Martin and Alexis McGregor nailed back-to-back threes late in the first quarter, Marshall led 16-4.

The Lady Patriots didn’t let up in the second quarter.

McMinn’s bucket at the 3:39 mark made it 24-6. Two minutes later Julia Nicholson, who was dominant inside the paint, scored and it was 29-7.

The Lady Lions got their only excitement at the close of the first half with a long three just before the buzzer.

MA was up 29-12 at the break.

Nicholson opened the third with consecutive buckets.

Wilkins, McGreger and Miller continued to turn up the defensive heat on the Lamar guards.

At the end of the third, the Lady Pats led 38-16.

Eight minutes later the celebration began as the number one team from the North had routed the top squad from the Central.

Nicholson poured in a game-high 24 points. Martin had 11 and McGreger eight.

“The defensive effort was amazing – only giving up 81 points in three games (at the state tournament) was a total team effort,” said head coach Michael Clifton.

“And the look on their faces Saturday as they waited on the buzzer was priceless.”

Semi-finals

Much like the championship game, the Lady Patriots put their semi-final opponent away early. They routed Trinity, the top team from the South, 63-31 on Friday.

The Lady Pats came out blistering the nets while turning up the defensive heat.

Martin opened the game with a three. Miller added two long-range shots, and it was quickly 11-2.

Nicholson, McGreger and Martin closed the first quarter with baskets, and the Lady Saints were on their heels, trailing 25-2.

Early in the second period, it was 30-2, and Trinity called a timeout to try and regroup.

The Lady Saints did manage to reach double-digit scoring late in the first half. However, when Miller drilled a three with just under a minute left, MA was still in full control at 39-11.

The scoring and the stopping just kept on keeping on for the Lady Pats in the second half. Martin hit a pair of shots from beyond the three line and drove into the lane for two points. It was 49-16 with 3:17 to go in the third.

MA was on top by 30 points (51-21) at the end of three quarters and coasted into the title contest.

Nicholson had 20 points, Martin 18 and Miller 13.

Quarter-finals

Marshall Academy, after receiving a first-round bye, got Tallulah Wednesday of last week in the quarter-finals. For most of the season, Tallulah had been ranked number one in Class AA and MA number two.

So much for the rankings, as the Lady Patriots sent the Lady Trojans packing back to Louisiana, 40-22.

MA got off to a slow start in this one, leading 10-4 after one quarter and 13-10 at intermission.

But in the third, Martin and Miller hit some key shots as the Lady Pats surged ahead 27-17.

McGreger scored back-to-back buckets to start the fourth and it was suddenly 32-17.

MA was on cruise control from there.

Martin finished with 16 points. McGreger followed with 11.

Overall Tournament

The Lady Patriots advanced to the MAIS Overall Tournament at Mississippi College in Clinton and beat Briarfield Academy 49-31 on Monday of this week in the first round.

Marshall (32-7) will play again Wednesday at 10 a.m. versus Bowling Green, a winner over Magnolia Heights Tuesday. The semi-finals are Friday and the championship game Saturday.