Hardwood Heroes Sports
Lady Marauders Take Care of Business at the Line; Defeat Athens
By: Chloe Workman
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POMEROY, Ohio- As they say, games are won and lost on the free throw line.
After a late push, the Lady Marauders defeated the Lady Bulldogs by a 51-39 deficit. Heading into the fourth quarter Athens was leading Meigs by a basket, but the Lady Marauders turned on the gas and finished their business against the Lady Bulldogs for the second time this season.
Athens didn’t go down without a fight, the Lady Marauders committed 26 turnovers, many of them forced, but the Lady Bulldogs couldn’t seem to finish when it mattered most.
For Athens, the foul line is where they struggled to gain momentum. They shot only 50%. They significantly improved as the game wore on, but ultimately it came back to bite them.
For the hosts, a few hit foul shots seemed to be just what they needed to rally behind to push them to the win. These key shots all came in the fourth quarter, as they began to close out the victory.
Mallory Hawley led the Lady Marauder squad with 14 points- six of which came from the charity stripe. Hawley was strong in the paint, drawing seven fouls, causing her to get some free shots many times late in the game.
Riley Lisle followed closely behind with ten points, while also grabbing six rebounds. Mara Hall, while having six points, sank all four of her free throws, a key component to the Lady Marauder win.
On the flip side, Mindi Gregory led the Lady Bulldogs with eight points and three rebounds. Emma Jean-Francois came alive in the Monday night matchup with seven points. Jean-Francois also had a hard game in the paint, drawing many of her own fouls.
This is the second time these in conference foes have met, and it won’t be the last. The two teams are set to play each other in a tournament play-in game set on February 10 at Logan High School.