North Marion 33,
Sweet Home 26
The Husky girls basketball team dominated North Marion in the first half of Friday night’s home contest, but North Marion returned the favor in the second half to win 33-26.
The Huskies jumped out to an 8-3 lead in the first quarter and then a 22-7 lead at halftime.
“We came out and played really well early on,” Coach Jason Gorham said. The Huskies passed the ball well, giving themselves good looks at the bucket. Defensively, they pressured North Marion hard, preventing North Marion from getting any decent looks.
“They came out in the second half, they were able to get a couple baskets and we didn’t,” Gorham said. North Marion stole the momentum and was able to get into its trapping game, forcing the Huskies into turning the ball over and giving up easy shots in transition.
North Marion held the Huskies to just four points on the half on its way to a 33-26 win.
“I was real proud of the way they battled,” Gorham said of his team. “The kids played really well the last game.”
The Huskies worked hard all season, Gorham said. “The kids never lacked effort. They came out every night ready to play and worked hard and really played well as a team from beginning to end; and that was great to see from them.”
Breanne Messmer led Husky scoring with 11 points. Tabby Trahan added seven; Makenzie Marchbanks, three; Nicki Aerni, three; Sara Brocard, two. Erika Snow and Olivia Lake played but did not score.
Peterson led North Marion scoring with 15 points.
Cascade 41, Sweet Home 34
Cascade defeated the Huskies 41-34 on Feb. 14 at home.
“They got out on us early, a 7-0 lead, mostly free throws,” Gorham said. “Then we kind of settled down and stayed pretty even on them.”
The Huskies trailed 9-4 after the first quarter and 19-14 at halftime.
Cascade, number two in league, came out and built a bigger lead in the third quarter, 33-20, Gorham said. The Huskies scrapped their way back into it and gave themselves a chance to win the game during the fourth quarter.
Cascade finished the Huskies off with free throws at the end of the game, Gorham said. Fighting foul trouble and bigger opponents, he was proud that the Huskies still had an opportunity to win at the end of the game.
With foul trouble in the post, Lake came off the bench in the second quarter to put up six points for the Huskies, Gorham said.
Hannah Swanson led Husky scoring with 11 points. Messmer added seven; Lake, six; Aerni, five; Snow, two; and Marchbanks, two. Trahan and Brocard played but did not score.
Dana Northrup led Cascade scoring with 13 points. Klein added 10 and Rouse, eight.
The Huskies end the season with their loss to North Marion.
The team will lose seniors Swanson and Aerni, Gorham said. The team is looking forward to next season now. The Huskies have their defense down, but they need to work on offense to get some points on the board to keep up with other teams.