MOUNT VERNON - Going just by the numbers, the Marion girls didn’t have a chance at Mount Vernon Saturday afternoon.

They didn’t manage a defensive rebound for the first six minutes of the game and spotted the Mustangs  a 13-1 lead.

The Indians were called for 21 fouls to nine for the home team; they were 2 of 6 from the foul line, while Mount Vernon was 14 of 23.

From the field, the Mustangs took 53 shots to just 35 for Marion. And they turned the ball over only seven times to 21 for their visitors.

And yet, the Class 3A 15th-ranked Indians had possession of the ball and a two-point lead (their first of the game) with two minutes to go.

They still led by one a minute later.

But three straight lost balls and four fouls later, Marion came up short 40-34 in a Wamac conference inter-divisional matchup.

It was a heart-breaking loss for a team that plays with such heart.  And especially disheartening since Coach Brian O’Donnell’s gutsy girls came from so far back, only to have it slip away at the end.

“I can’t point to any one thing,” O’Donnell said in trying to explain what happened.  “We had a slow start, but I was proud of how we bounced back. And we did a lot of things really well. Mount Vernon just had great effort.”

Particularly at the very beginning and at the finish.  The Mustangs’ slick sophomore guard Miranda Chapman opened the contest with two consecutive 3-pointers from the corner, then added five more quick points on a jump shot, a rebound tip-in and a foul shot.

Teammate Liz Skotowski (one of only two seniors on the roster) closed out a 17-6 opening quarter with a 3-point heave at the buzzer.

“They got too many loose balls and too many offensive boards,” O’Donnell said of the sluggish start.

The Indians closed the gap to three at 20-17 on back-to-back 3s by senior sparkplug leader Dani Peyton and sophomore Emi Banes, but free throws pushed Mount Vernon’s halftime lead back up to six.

Marion kept clawing, though, with Peyton taking over the offense.  She hit two 3-pointers early in the fourth quarter, and her drive with 4:20 to go put the Indians ahead for the first time at 34-32.

Employing a press seemed to  befuddle the Mustangs. They scored only one field goal in the final stanza to go along with 8 of 10 free throws.

“I thought we started to rebound a lot better,” O’Donnell said.  “We pushed the ball and knocked down some shots.”

While trying to nurse the narrow lead, though, the turnovers finally did in the Indians.

“Give Marion credit that they didn’t throw in the towel when we got off to a quick start,” said Mount Vernon Coach Bob Kintzel.  “And I thought our kids showed a lot of character by coming back after we got down. We’ve got a young  team, and I was pleased at how they reacted.”

Chapman and Peyton each led their teams in scoring with 13 points.

Mount Vernon, which has already clinched the Wamac East Division title, boosted its record to 13-4 (13-2 Wamac).  The Indians, who fell at ninth-ranked Williamsburg 62-46 Friday night, are now 11-6 (11-4 Wamac).

MARION (34): Allison Scott 3 0-0 7, Jessie Kramer 1 1-2 3, Beth Knapp 0 0-0 0, Dani Peyton 5 0-0 13, Alyssa Jones 0 0-0 0, Michalyn Mohr 0 0-0 0, Amanda Sahm 3 0-0 7, Ashlin Korf 0 0-0 0, Brooke Cole 0 0-0 0, Emi Banes 1 0-2 3, Elizabeth Deeney 0 1-2 1, Paige Perkins 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 2-6 34.

MOUNT VERNON (40): Miranda Chapman 5 1-4 13, Laura Deininger 2 4-7 8, Liz Skotowski 2 2-2 7, Hannah Wieditz 0 0-0 0, Emma Pisarik 0 5-6 5, Allison Platte 1 1-2 4, Gabby Kolker 1 1-2 3. Totals 11 14-23 40.

Halftime – Mount Vernon 23, Marion 17. 3-point goals – Marion 6 (Peyton 3, Scott, Sahm, Banes), Mount Vernon 4 (Chapman 2, Skotowski, Platte). Total fouls – Marion 21, Mount Vernon 9. Fouled out – none.