Lady Lions play inspired basketball on Senior Night to beat Robinson 53-45

Article and Photos by T Ray Henry

The Marshall High School girls basketball team welcomed the Robinson High School Lady Maroons to McNary Gymnasium on Thursday, February 5^th for a varsity-only conference tilt in front of a big crowd which included the Marshall High School Cheerleading Squad and the Lions Pep Band. Prior to the game, Marshall celebrated and recognized its senior basketball players: Marlee Heighton, Caitlyn Hilliard, Ella Mattas, Addy Ross, Abbie Thompson, and Lynn Welborn.

Earlier in the afternoon, the IHSA announced seedings for the upcoming state tournament. Marshall and Robinson are assigned to the same sub-sectional in Class 2A, with Marshall being the 7^th seed and Robinson being the 4^th seed in the Olney Sectional. The pairings and game schedule for the tournament will be announced tomorrow (Friday, February 6^th) at 4:00 PM. Marshall (12-9 on the season) and Robinson (15-11) both entered with identical 2-3 conference records. The winner of this game would grab a share of 3^rd place in the LIC Conference standings alongside Olney, while the loser would descend all the way down to 6^th place with one conference game to play.

Even though the post season is a known component, this game still had a lot riding on the outcome. The way the teams went at one another, and the way momentum seesawed back and forth, those in attendance could have presumed this game had a regional championship hanging in the balance. When the dust finally settled, Marshall came away with a hard-fought 53-45 win over Robinson to send the Lions senior class out a winner.

Marshall and Robinson battled it out like two boxers testing one another during a low scoring first quarter, which ended all tied up at 9 apiece. Ella Mattas scored the first bucket for the Lions when she took a pass from Harper Richardson down on the left side, and she went in towards the goal and scored. Lynn Welborn then scored when she took a pass in the lane from Marlee Heighton and she scored. Welborn also hit a free throw midway through the quarter which kept the Lions close to the Lady Maroons on the scoreboard. With Robinson ahead 9-5, the Lions came up the floor when Marlee Heighton passed the ball down on the left side to Lynn Welborn, who turned and passed the ball to Harper Richardson moving in from the left side. Richardson caught the pass and made an acrobatic move up to the rim and scored to get the Lions within two (9-7). With 30 seconds to go in the quarter, McKenzie Davis took a pass on the left side of the lane from Harper Richardson, and Davis scored on a nice move to tie the game at 9. With Robinson missing the final shot of the quarter, the teams went to the second quarter tied at 9.

The Lions opened the second quarter with a 7-1 run to open up a 16-10 lead with just under four minutes to go until the halftime break. Lynn Welborn started the run when she took a long pass from Ella Mattas and scored at the rim. Marlee Heighton threw a pass over to McKenzie Davis on the left side, and Davis drove in and scored as she was fouled. Davis then sank the free throw for the and-one to give Marshall a 14-10 lead with 4:42 to go on the clock. Marlee Heighton later scored on a floater down the lane to make it 16-10 with 3:20 left in the quarter. Robinson responded by scoring to make it 16-12 before Marshall’s Lynn Welborn scored on the left block for the Lions to go up 18-12. The Lady Maroons came back with a basket inside to get within four again at 18-14, but Marlee Heighton swished a big three-pointer from the left baseline to give the Lions a 7-point lead at 21-14 with 2:20 to go before the break.

Lynn Welborn banked home a shot from 10 feet away in the lane after Robinson scored, and at the 1:40 mark, Marshall led 23-16. A three by Robinson closed the gap to 23-19 before Marshall’s Welborn hit another shot in the lane to bring the score to 25-19. With about a minute to go on the clock, the Lady Maroons scored (25-21), then Marshall worked the ball outside on the perimeter when Marlee Heighton sank her third three-pointer of the quarter, this time from the top of the key, and after Robinson missed their final shot, Marshall took a 28-21 lead into the half.

In a tense third quarter, Marshall opened up a 9-point lead when Harper Richardson grabbed a rebound on the defensive end. She dribbled up, then she zipped a pass ahead to Lynn Welborn, who caught the pass and went in and scored to make it 30-21. One free throw by Harper Richardson was all the scoring Marshall got over the next three minutes of play as Robinson closed the gap to within two points (31-29) with three minutes to go on the clock in the third. Marshall’s McKenzie Davis scored a crucial bucket at the 1:23 mark to push the Lions out ahead by four (33-29), but the Lady Maroons closed the gap again to two (33-31) with 1:05 remaining. In the final minute of the third quarter, Marshall got scores from McKenzie Davis at the rim and Lynn Welborn from just inside the free throw line, and the third quarter ended with the Lions leading by six (37-31).

Two free throws by Lynn Welborn to begin the fourth quarter gave Marshall a 39-31 lead. Robinson came back with 7 straight points to trim Marshall’s lead to one point (39-38) with 5 ½ minutes left on the clock. Lynn Welborn sank two free throws to make it 41-38, Robinson came back and scored on a three-point play to tie the game at 41 with 4:34 left.

Marshall tightened their sneakers at this point in the contest, and wrapped around three empty trips by Robinson, two of which came at the free throw line, Marshall got a huge basket from McKenzie Davis at the 4:20 mark when she went in amongst the trees and scored to put Marshall ahead by two (43-41). Ella Mattas then drained as gigantic three-pointer from the left wing to open up a five-point lead (46-41). The barrage kept on coming as Marlee Heighton drove the right side and scored on a scoop to give the Lions a 7-point lead (48-41) with 1:30 to go. Robinson scored with 1:21 on the clock (48-43), then the Lady Maroons fouled Marshall’s Addy Ross with 1:14 to go. Ross stepped up to the free throw line, and she calmly hit both free throws to make the score 50-43 in favor of Marshall.

Robinson came back and scored (50-45) before a free throw by Harper Richardson gave the Lions a six-point lead (51-45) with 27.9 remaining. After the Lady Maroon missed two from the charity stripe with 18.3 seconds to go, Lynn Welborn grabbed the defensive rebound, and she was fouled with 15 seconds left. Wrapped around a time out by Robinson, Welborn hit both free throws to make the score 53-45. When Robinson’s next shot caromed off the rim, Marshall’s Addy Ross secured the rebound, and the Lions ran out the clock to the delight of their fans as Marshall defeated Robinson by the score of 53-45. With the win, Marshall moves into a tie for 3^rd place in the conference standings with Olney, while Robinson falls to 6^th place.

Lynn Welborn led the team with 21 points. Welborn hit all six of her free throws down the stretch in the fourth quarter to seal the win. Marlee Heighton finished the night with 10 points while running the point all game long. Ella Mattas and McKenzie Davis, who were vital to giving the Lions the lead in the fourth quarter, each finished with 7 points. Harper Richardson had 6 points, while Addy Ross hit two huge free throws in the final minutes of the game to preserve Marshall’s lead.

Other Statistics:

Rebounds - Welborn 9, Davis 7, Richardson 6, Heighton 5, A. Ross 3, Mattas 3

Assists - Richardson 6, Heighton 2, A. Ross 2, Mattas 1

Steals - Welborn 3, Mattas 2, Heighton 1

Blocks - Welborn 1, Mattas 1, Richardson 1

Marshall (13-9 on the season) plays its next game Monday, February 9^th when the Lions travel to Edwards County High School in Albion to play a non-conference doubleheader against the Class 1A #12 Lions. The former LIC Conference foes will tip off the junior varsity game at 6:00 PM, with the varsity contest to follow.

Marlee Heighton