Marion Girls Basketball

Marion girls fall short on senior night

It wasn't the night they were expecting.

The Marion girls basketball team was confident after a 16-point victory over Waterloo Columbus in Waterloo earlier this season. But the Indians' senior night at home on Friday was taken over by Columbus freshman Kate Letkewicz, who scored 20 points, leading Columbus to a 51-40 win over Marion.

"Since they've last played us they have improved a lot and I don't think we really came out and expected that," said senior guard Leah Smith.

The game was fast-paced with the high-pressure style that has become the Indian girls' trademark. It was Columbus that was applying most of the pressure out of the gates, however, turning Marion over four times in the first six possessions and 29 times throughout the game.

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No. 8 Williamsburg cools off Indians

Mackenzie Bigbee scored 18 points and freshman point guard Paige Greiner added 12 to lead Class 3A No. 8 Williamsburg past Marion, 49-34, Friday in a Wamac Conference girls basketball game at Marion.

Williamsburg ran its record to 16-2 overall and 15-1 in Wamac Conference games.

Jessie Kramer led Marion (6-11, 5-10) with 10 points. The Indians lost for only the second time in their last seven games and both have been to highly ranked Class 3A teams. The other loss was to No. 2 Mount Vernon.

Marion gave Williamsburg a scare, tying the game at 30-30 with two minutes left in the third quarter. The Raiders drew ahead 33-30 by the end of the period, then went on a 16-4 roll in the final stanza to seal the win.

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Streaking Indians down Indee

Look out Wamac, the Marion girls are on a roll.

After starting their season with a win and then losing nine straight, the Indians have won five of their last six. Tuesday night at home, they avenged an earlier four-point loss at Independence by lassoing the Mustangs, 44-31, in a West Division matchup.

Many of Marion's early losses were by six points or less, and first-year Coach Brian O'Donnell said the turnaround is easy to pinpoint. "We've finally found a way to finish games," he said.

Leading 28-20 after a somewhat sluggish first half, the Indians came out on fire in the third quarter. Forcing turnovers and grabbing a slew of offensive rebounds to set up second-chance shots, they held the Mustangs to only two points for the first seven minutes and stretched the lead to 37-22.

From there, they coasted.

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Marion girls rally for win

Dani Peyton scored 16 points, Kristin Kramer added 15 and Alyssa Jones 12 to lead Marion past Mount Pleasant, 55-51, Saturday in a non-conference girls basketball game at Marion.

Trailing 42-40 after three quarters, Marion (5-10) outscored Mount Pleasant 15-9 in the final period.

The Indians have won four of their last five games.

MARION (55): Smith 1 0-0 2, Knapp 1 0-0 2, Combs 2 2-3 6, J.Kramer 0 0-0 0, K.Kramer 5 2-3 15, Peyton 6 2-2 16, Jones 6 0-1 12, Scott 1 0-0 2. Totals 22 6-10 55.

MOUNT PLEASANT (51): Taylor Shull 8 5-7 22, Kimzey 0 3-4 3, Tanya Shull 3 1-2 9, Booton 3 0-0 9, Fox 2 3-4 7. Totals 16 13-19 51.

Halftime -- Mount Pleasant 23, Marion 22. 3-point goals -- Marion 5 (K.Kramer 3, Peyton 2), Mount Pleasant 6 (Tay.Shull, Tan.Shull 2, Booton 3).