Article and Photos by T Ray Henry
On Monday, December 8th, the Marshall High School girls basketball team traveled north on Illinois Route 1 to Paris High School to take on the Lady Tigers in an LIC conference doubleheader inside Room N102 at Paris High School. The Lions came into the contest with an overall record of 2-2 and a conference record of 0-1, while Paris came in with a conference record of 1-0 and an overall record of 7-1, with the lone loss coming at the hands of top-ranked and undefeated Teutopolis.
Playing back-to-back games against the top two teams in a conference is a tall task to ask of anybody, and this successional gauntlet is no different from any other in the past. After falling in their last game at home to Mount Carmel, the Lions had to turn around and play their next game against the Lady Tigers of Paris. Mount Carmel and Paris, who shared the Little Illini Conference title last year with Newton, are going to sit atop the LIC standing all season and battle it out for the crown.
Since Paris joined the Little Illini Conference in 2014 after they cut ties with the Apollo Conference and joined former Apollo members Robinson, Olney, and Newton in the LIC, Marshall has defeated the Lady Tigers just once in 15 tries, in the championship game of the LIC Tournament in 2017. The Lady Tigers are currently on a run of four consecutive regional championships, and two seasons ago, they won a sectional championship. It is no secret that Paris and Mount Carmel, which went to the IHSA Class 2A Final Four last season, are the cream of the crop in the LIC, and both programs are what the Lions strive to become under the tutelage of head coach Michael Henry.
In the varsity game, Paris led wire to wire in a 66-32 win. After the Lady Tigers jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the opening quarter, Marshall’s Marlee Heighton, who led the Big Red with 11 points during the game, sank two free throws to cut the Paris lead to 4-2. Ella Mattas hit a nice jumper from the left elbow before Marlee Heighton hit back-to-back shots for the Lions to keep pace with the Lady Tigers. With 32 seconds remaining in the quarter, Lynn Welborn sank a couple free throws to get Marshall within 5 points, making the score 15-10. Paris scored before the buzzer, and after one quarter of play, Paris led 17-10.
In the second quarter, Paris scored the first ten points before Marshall’s McKenzie Davis scored on a tough move on the block at the 3:43 mark. Marlee Heighton also scored a field goal, and Heighton, Lynn Welborn, and Harper Richardson each hit a free throw as the Lions went to halftime trailing 43-17. In the first half, Marlee Heighton had 9 points, Lynn Welborn 3, McKenzie Davis and Ella Mattas 2 each, and Harper Richardson 1.
In the second half, Marshall pulled all their starters with 2 ½ minutes remaining in the third quarter, but Paris continued to play their starters until there was 1:36 left in the game. As a matter of fact, Paris did not clear their bench until Paris’ leading scorer hit the floor awkwardly with a minute and a half left in the game. That vision right in front of the Paris bench must have awakened the Lady Tigers coaching staff to pull all of their starters. Had one of their best players injured herself in a 30+ point blowout, that could have derailed a deep state tournament run they expect to accomplish.
Marshall’s bench played the Paris starting five very tough in the final quarter of play, holding the high-scoring Lady Tigers to 9 points even though the home team continued to run their regular offense and launch three-pointers while they were comfortably ahead on the scoreboard. The experience of playing an opponent’s best players for 1 ½ quarters will only help Marshall’s depth moving forward. Knowing that anyone can come into a game off the bench and hold their own against one of the best teams in the state is very encouraging. Now that the Lions have the two toughest games in conference play in the rear-view mirror, this team can work on improving their chemistry. The season is still young, and all the goals are still out there for the 2025-2026 edition of the Marshall Lions.
Marshall varsity game scoring: Marlee Heighton – 11, Lynn Welborn – 7, Harper Richardson – 3, Abbie Thompson – 3, Ella Mattas – 2, McKenzie Davis – 2, Lilly Ross – 2, Jayden Jones – 2.
Other Statistical Leaders:
Rebounds - Addy Ross 5, Lynn Welborn 3, Ella Mattas 3, Harper Richardson 3, Marlee Heighton 2, Lilly Ross 2
Assists - Addy Ross 2, Marlee Heighton 2, Harper Richardson 1
In the junior varsity game, after struggling in the first half against a more experience Paris squad during which Nya Engledow scored Marshall’s only points, the Lions outscored the vaunted Paris squad 17-15 throughout the second half. Marshall scored the first points of the second half when McKenzie Davis dribbled out of a scrum up the right side when she threw the ball ahead crosscourt to Aubree Shaffer, who outraced the Paris defenders to the goal and scored. After the Lions got a stop on defense, Shaffer raced out and passed the ball ahead to Kyla Gustafson, who was sprinting down the right side of the lane. Gus caught the ball and layed it up and in. Suddenly, the young Lions realized they could go toe-to-toe with the Lady Tigers.
Aubree Shaffer scored again before the end of the third quarter, and the buzzer sounded as Marshall held Paris to just 3 points while the Lions scored 8 in the quarter. In the final quarter, Marshall’s Jayden Jones entered the game in the last two minutes and sank three field goals, two from the left side and one from the right side. McKenzie Davis and Aubree Shaffer also scored in the final quarter as the junior varsity Lions took away a positive second half performance against Paris.
Marshall junior varsity game scoring: Jayden Jones – 6, Aubree Shaffer – 6, McKenzie Davis – 3, Nya Engledow – 3, Kyla Gustafson – 2.
Marshall (2-3) returns to action this Thursday night when the Lions travel to Lawrenceville for a conference game. This will be a varsity-only game due to low numbers of players in Lawrenceville. The varsity contest is scheduled to begin at 6:00 PM. The Lions also play a game on Saturday in the Indiana-Illinois Border Battle hosted by South Vermillion High School in Clinton, Indiana. Marshall is scheduled to play West Vigo (IN) at 2:00 PM Illinois time. The game at South Vermillion is part of a Marshall girls/boys doubleheader, with the boys basketball team playing Greencastle (IN) right after the girls game. Tickets for the Border Battle are $7.00 each. Those six years of age and under are free.
Abbie Thompson makes a pass against Paris
Karsyn Johnson shoots a 3 pointer