Sports
Meigs Draws Comeback, Advances Over Jackson
By: Nick Ursini
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It might not have been pretty, but the Meigs Lady Marauders came back from a 9-point, fourth quarter deficit, to knock off the Jackson Ironladies 44-42 in the first round of the Division II postseason.
The game started off very slow with both teams having trouble scoring, especially Meigs. The Lady Marauders were getting shots off, however, Jackson’s 2-3 zone defense was contesting every shot and forcing Meigs’ turnovers.
Meigs had five first half turnovers and Jackson capitalized by building its lead to 15-4 at the end of the first quarter, in most part thanks to point guard Rebekah Green.
Green had 11 of Jackson’s 24 points at halftime. Green finished the game with 22 points, five rebounds and two steals.
For Meigs, sophomore Kassidy Betzing opposed Green all night long. Both Green and Betzing put on a clinic for the fans at hand at Katie Smith Gymnasium.
Betzing also had 11 points at halftime and really stepped it up after halftime. Betzing finished the game with 20 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals.
Coming out of the locker room, Meigs played more physically as the Lady Marauders saw their season slipping away. Despite the attack from the Lady Marauders, Jackson still outscored Meigs, 11-10 in the third quarter.
Meigs pulled out all the stops during the fourth quarter, but could not get the upper hand until the dying embers of the game.
The Lady Marauders scratched and clawed their way back to a four-point deficit before regaining the lead and never giving it back.
In fact, Meigs led in just two minutes of the thirty-two-minute game, the first and the last minute.
Down by two, Green got to the line for a chance to tie the game at 42, but missed both her free throws. Before the two attempts, Green was 8-10 from the charity strip.
Meigs got the chance to put the game out of reach with six seconds left and Madison Hendricks drained her two free throws to seal the victory for the Lady Marauders.
The loss drops Jackson’s record to 9-12 to finish its 2016-2017 campaign.
Meigs moves on to the second round to face the top-ranked Sheridan Lady Generals.
Tip off is set for Saturday at 1 p.m. at Logan High School.