Lady Patriots going to state

The Marshall Academy Lady Patriots are state tournament bound for the first time since 2018.

MA, coached by Michael Clifton, finished fourth in last week’s North 4A Basketball Tournament played at North Delta School in Batesville.

The Lady Pats were scheduled to meet Clinton Christian in the first round of Class 4A State Tuesday at Winona Christian. The Marshall girls put on their rally shoes at halftime in the opening round of north half. Down by 15, they came back to stun Carroll Academy, 43-34.

It was an amazing turnaround.

The Lady Patriots sputtered and trailed 27-12 at intermission.

Over the next 16 minutes, they turned up the defensive intensity and hit key shots, particularly from the freethrow stripe. They outscored the Lady Rebels 31-7 in the second half to win by nine.

Kamdyn Taylor provided the firepower for MA. She scored 18 points, 12 of those in the second half.

Jhaniya Davis followed with 10. She was six of six from the free-throw stripe in the second half.

Hallie Turner and Kailyn Smith also added key secondhalf free throws, plus Turner connected for a pair of threes.

In the semi-finals Friday, Kirk Academy proved to be the Lady Patriots’ nemesis once again. They fell 31-18 to the Lady Raiders, their fourth loss to them this season.

The Lady Pats did not hit a field goal in the first half. They were down 18-6, with all of their points coming from the line.

They played the Lady Raiders almost evenly in the second half and lost by 13.

The MA defense limited Kirk to just two field goals in the second half, but the Lady Raiders were nine of 13 from the free-throw line.

The leading scorer for the Lady Patriots was Smith with eight.

Marshall came up short, 42-38, in overtime Saturday versus Oak Hill Academy in the north half consolation contest.

The Lady Patriots trailed 20-16 at the halfway mark.

MA outscored the Lady Raiders 11-5 in the third, holding them to one field goal in the quarter, and led by two going to the fourth.

The game was tied at 34 at the end of regulation, and Oak Hill outscored Marshall 8-4 in the extra period.

Davis and Taylor were the leading point producers for the Lady Patriots (12-15). They tallied 15 and 14, respectively.

With a win over Clinton Christian, the top-seeded team from the south, the Lady Patriots will meet the North Delta-Lamar winner Friday at 2:15 p.m. In the state tourney semifinals. The consolation and championship contests are slated for Saturday at 1 p.m. And 2:15 p.m., respectively.

The top three teams move on to the Midsouth Association of Independent Schools Overall Tournament next week at Mississippi College in Clinton.