Article and Photos by T Ray Henry
The Marshall High School girls basketball team returned to action on Thursday, January 8th after having the New Year’s holiday off as they brought home fourth place in the Dieterich Holiday Tournament with a 2-2 record. They were matched up against the Sullivan High School Lady Redskins, currently ranked 40th in Class 2A by MaxPreps while sporting a record of 10-5. By comparison, the Lions are ranked #114 in the same class with a record of 5-6. Already this season, Sullivan, which is undefeated in conference play with a record of 4-0, has beaten perennial powers in St. Joseph-Ogden and Effingham St. Anthony this season, while the Lions were still looking for a signature win to kickstart the second half of the season. Playing a team in the same sub-sectional during the state tournament which begins next month, the Lions wanted to see where they stand against top-flight competition as they begin a five-week run towards the state tournament.
Compounding tonight’s meeting with the Lady Redskins, Marshall’s seniors still remember that Sullivan defeated the Marshall Cubs when these current seniors were in the eighth grade. Sullivan took down Marshall in a close game for the sectional championship and advanced to the State Finals. Four years later, these Lions seniors wanted another crack at the Lady Redskins, albeit without a state finals bid on the line.
After the Lions set the tone for the night on defense in getting a stop on Sullivan’s opening possession, Harper Richardson got Marshall on the scoreboard with a bucket inside. After the Lady Redskins tied it up at 2, Lynn Welborn took a pass in the lane from Marlee Heighton and went to the hoop and scored to give the Lions a 4-2 lead. Sullivan countered with a three-pointer from Aeralyn Thrasher, who finished the game with 35 points, and the home side led 5-4 with 6 1/2 to go in the opening quarter.
At the 4:17 mark, Marshall’s Harper Richardson took a pass from Marlee Heighton, and Richardson sank a jump shot from 12 feet away to move the Lions back in front 6-5. Sullivan then went on a 7-0 run to take a 12-6 lead before Marshall’s Lynn Welborn scored at the rim to make the score 12-8 in favor of Sullivan. Another three-pointer by Sullivan pushed the Lady Redskins lead up to 7 with the score 15-8 before Marshall’s Marlee Heighton sank a 15-footer from the left baseline to make the score 15-10 with 1:30 to go on the clock.
Another three by Sullivan (the Lady Redskins hit 13 three-pointers in the game) gave the Lady Redskins an 18-10 advantage before Harper Richardson sank two free throws for the Lions to get within 6 with the score 18-12. On Sullivan’s next possession, a shot caromed off the rim, and Marshall’s McKenzie Davis grabbed the rebound. She turned and zipped a long pass to a streaking Marlee Heighton, who caught the pass and threaded a pass ahead to Harper Richardson, who caught the ball and scored as she was fouled. Richardson sank the free throw for the three-point play, and the Lions were now down by three with the score 18-15 with 1:11 remaining on the clock. Another three-pointer by the Lady Redskins closed out scoring in the first 8 minutes of play, and Sullivan led 21-15 after one quarter.
Sullivan went ahead 23-15 before Marshall’s Lynn Welborn scored a bucket and a free throw to make the score 23-18 early in the second quarter. Consecutive stops by the Lions defense were rewarded when Marlee Heighton and Harper Richardson scored back-to-back buckets to make it 23-22 Sullivan with 5 minutes to go before the half. Sullivan’s Elin Watkins responded to the Lions run with a three-pointer for the Lady Redskins to lead by 4 with the score 26-22. At the 4:40 mark, Marshall's Harper Richardson hit a free throw to get the Lions within 3 with the score 26-23. After the Lions got a stop on defense, Marlee Heighton dribbled up the floor, paused, then spun and threw a perfect bounce pass to Lynn Welborn sneaking in the back door, and Welborn went up and scored to get Marshall within one point at 26-25 with under 2 minutes to go before the break.
Marshall dialed up the defensive intensity and got the ball back. This time, Harper Richardson was fouled with 1:04 to go in the quarter. After she hit one free throw, we were all tied up at 26. After another stop as Marshall was playing its best defense of the season, Harper Richardson was fouled again. She sank both free throws, and Marshall now led by two 28-26. Sullivan tied the game at 28 before Marshall came right back, and with another back door play, this one from Marlee Heighton to Harper Richardson, the Lions led 30-28. As Sullivan inbounded the ball after Richardson’s score, Lynn Welborn stole the ball and went right up and scored from 10 feet away along the left baseline to give Marshall a 32-28 lead at the half.
To open the second half, Sullivan had possession, but they came away empty as Marshall’s defense was smothering the Lady Redskins. When the Lions got possession, Marlee Heighton dribbled into the lane and popped in a 6-footer to extend the Lions’ lead to 6 with the score 34-28. Sullivan came back and scored to cut the Marshall lead to four with the score 34-30 before Marlee Heighton inbounded the ball to Ella Mattas, who put up a shot on the left block that went in to give Marshall a 36-30 lead. Sullivan then scored five straight to get within one point as Marshall was clinging to a 36-35 lead with 4 minutes to go in the third.
With the Lady Redskins putting on a full court press, Marshall’s Marlee Heighton brought the ball up the floor, and Sullivan tipped the ball out of bounds on the end line. Heighton inbounded the ball in the frontcourt to Harper Richardson on the right elbow. Richardson curled around a perfect screen set by McKenzie Davis, and Richardson hit a big shot to move the Lions ahead by three 38-35 with 3:30 left in the quarter.
A three-pointer by the home team tied the game at 38 apiece, but Marshall went back in front by three when Nya Engledow swished a shot from the top left of the key and McKenzie Davis sank a free throw. Two buckets by Sullivan gave the Lady Redskins a 42-41 lead with a minute and a half to go. Lynn Welborn sank a free throw for Marshall to tie it all up at 42, then less than 2 seconds later, Ella Mattas hit a huge three-point shot from up top left to give the Lions a 45-42 lead with 1:06 to go in the third.
Consecutive trips to the free throw line for Sullivan netted three points, and with 35 seconds left on the clock, we were back to being all tied up at 45. On Marshall’s next possession, the Lions had the ball out of bounds. Marlee Heighton inbounded to Lynn Welborn inside the lane, and Welborn curled to the goal and scored as she was fouled with 23.8 seconds left. Welborn hit the free throw for the and-one, and Marshall led 48-45. On Sullivan’s next possession, a missed three-pointer was grabbed by Marshall’s Kyla Gustafson, who turned and threw a laser up the court to a streaking Addy Ross, who took the pass and went in and scored at the buzzer to give Marshall a 50-45 lead after three quarters of play.
On the first possession for Marshall in the final quarter, Ella Mattas threw a pass to Lilly Ross, who raced down the right side to take the pass and score to give Marshall a 52-45 lead. The Lady Redskins came right back and scored to trim the Lions lead to five with the score 52-47. With 5:41 showing on the clock, Marshall’s Nya Engledow calmly sank two free throws to make it 54-47. Over the next minute, though, Sullivan scored six straight points to get within one with the score 54-53 in favor of Marshall.
After a timeout by Marshall head coach Michael Henry, the Lions executed a perfect play. With Lynn Welborn on the right side, she passed over to Lilly Ross on the left side. Ross moved the ball back to the middle, where Marlee Heighton was standing behind the three-point line. Heighton took the pass and put up a 20-footer that hit nothing but the bottom of the net as Marshall took a four-point lead with the score 57-53. On Sullivan’s next possession, the Lions got a stop and took over on offense. With Sullivan in a 1-3-1 defense, Marlee Heighton worked the ball down on the right block to Lynn Welborn, who turned and scored as she was fouled with 3:15 to go in the game. Welborn sank the free throw for the three-point play, and all of a sudden a one-point Lions lead was now a seven-point lead with the score 60-53.
At the 2:45 mark, two free throws by Sullivan got the home team within five 60-55. With the Lady Redskins in a full-court press, Marshall’s Addy Ross took the ball and raced down the floor where she went up and scored at the rim to get Marshall’s lead back up to seven with the score 62-55. Sullivan got some wonky calls and scored five straight to trail by two with the score 62-60 before Marshall’s Addy Ross sank a free throw with 1:32 to go to give Marshall a three-point lead at 63-60.
Sullivan missed their next shot, and Marshall’s Ella Mattas grabbed a huge rebound to give the ball back to the Lions. Mattas passed the ball to Marlee Heighton, who raced up court where she passed the ball down low to Lynn Welborn, who scored inside to make the score 65-60 with 48 seconds to go. Sullivan answered with a bucket seven seconds later to make it 65-62 as the Lady Redskins called timeout. On the ensuing possession, Marshall’s Marlee Heighton was fouled, and with 30.3 left on the clock, Heighton hit both free throws to make the score 67-62 as Marshall called timeout. With Sullivan in possession of the ball, Marshall’s defense harassed Sullivan’s ball handlers and took time off the clock. Sullivan eventually sank a three-pointer with 12.9 seconds to go as the Lady Redskins called another timeout with Marshall leading by two 67-65.
As the Lions inbounded the ball, Marlee Heighton was again fouled, this time with 11.5 seconds left. Heighton stepped up to the free throw line and swished both shots, giving Marshall a 69-65 lead. Sullivan raced up the floor on the ensuing possession and hit another three-pointer to get within one point at 69-68 with 2.2 seconds to go. The Lady Redskins immediately called timeout. After the timeout, Sullivan triple-teamed Marlee Heighton, leaving Addy Ross to take the inbounds pass on the left side, and Ross dribbled out the ball as the final buzzer sounded as Marshall came away with a thrilling 69-68 win over Sullivan.
Marshall was led by Lynn Welborn, who finished with 20 points. Marlee Heighton and Harper Richardson each had 16 points. Ella Mattas and Addy Ross each finished with 5 points, while Nya Engledow had 4. Lilly Ross had 2 points, and McKenzie Davis finished with one.
In the junior varsity game, Lilly Ross and Karsyn Johnson each had 7 points to lead the Lions, while Kyla Gustafson had 5, McKenzie Davis had 4, and Aubree Shaffer and Aria Ogle each had 2 in a losing effort. In an uncommon occurrence down the stretch of the JV game, Sullivan found it necessary to closely guard Marshall shooter Jayden Jones up and down the floor with the final score already decided. The scouting report and Jones’ position listed on the roster (Shooter) must have alerted the Lady Redskins that Jayden was a keen sharpshooter looking to score points.
Marshall plays its next game on Tuesday, January 13th when the Lions travel to Terre Haute North High School to take on the North Vigo (IN) High School Lady Patriots in a non-conference doubleheader. Tipoff for the junior varsity game will be at 5:30 PM Illinois Time. Please make a note of the time. The varsity contest will follow the JV game.
Statistics:
Rebounds - Heighton 8, Mattas 8, Welborn 7, Richardson 4, A. Ross 4, Davis 4
Assists - Heighton 3, A. Ross 2, Mattas 2, Richardson 1, L. Ross 1
Steals- Heighton 5, Welborn 4, A. Ross 2, Mattas 1, Gustafson 1
Marlee Heighton goes up for the shot
Addy Ross grabs a big rebound
Harper Richardson goes up for 2 of her 16 pts
Lynn Welborn scores 2 of her team high 20 pts