Article and photos by T Ray Henry
On Wednesdaty, February 11th, the Marshall High School girls basketball team hosted the Newton High School Lady Eagles in the Lions’ regular season finale inside McNary Gymnasium. Marshall came into the game with a record of 14-10, while Newton came in with a record of 18-10.
On a night when Marshall junior Jayden Jones started the first game of her high school career in the junior varsity contest, and she scored the Lions’ first two points on a 15-foot shot from the right side of the free throw line in the last JV game of the year, the night belonged to Marshall senior guard Marlee Heighton, who came into the varsity game needing 17 points to reach the 1,000-point milestone in her high school career.
In the varsity game, which was the Big Red’s third game in as many nights, the home side started out lethargic as Newton jumped on the Lions for an early 14-6 off the heels of two 7-0 runs. The Lady Eagles kept running on the Lions for easy layups off fast breaks, and the Marshall side was running on tired legs. At the end of one quarter of play, the score was 24-8 in favor of the visitors.
Marshall fell behind by as many as 19 in the second period, and at the half, Newton led by 16 with the score 39-23. The third quarter saw Newton extend their lead to 22, but lightning struck at the end of the quarter for Marshall when, with the Lions down by 21, Harper Richardson launched a 30-footer from the right side of the floor past mid-court that banked off the backboard and through the net as the buzzer sounded, and as the gym erupted, Marshall found life heading into the fourth quarter down by 18 (59-41).
In the final quarter, the Lions played their best ball of the game, outscoring Newton 24-14 in the period to make the final score 73-65. Even though those in attendance were hoping for a Lions win, most everyone in the crowd was counting the points for Marlee Heighton throughout the contest. In the first half, Marlee finished with 2 points going into the break, but in the third quarter, she got on track with an and-one followed by a three-pointer on Marshall’s next trip up the floor. After a bucket by Newton, Heighton hit a nice little floater in the lane, and suddenly she had 10 points by the end of the third quarter. In the fourth, Heighton and Lynn Welborn traded early buckets for the Lions to trim Newton’s lead down to single digits, but all the Marshall fans cared about was getting Marlee that 17th point in her final regular season game of her career. With Marlee holding steady at 999 points coming down the stretch, she was fouled with 1:02 remaining in the game. Marlee stepped up to the free throw line, and she wasted no time in dropping her 1,000th point through the net as the gym went wild. Marshall and Newton players all congratulated Marlee on this marvelous milestone in the final game of her senior season.
With the clock winding down, and with five seniors together on the floor for Marshall one last time, Caitlyn Hilliard took a pass in the lane from Ella Mattas, who was on the left side, and Caitlyn drove to the hoop and scored Marshall’s final basket of the 2025-2026 regular season.
Lynn Welborn led Marshall with 25 points, while Marlee Heighton scored 17 to make it to exactly 1,000 points in her career. Harper Richardson finished with 13. Ella Mattas scored 8, and Caitlyn Hilliard finished with 2.
For the junior varsity Lions in the last game of the season, McKenzie Davis led the way with 14 points. Lilly Ross and Nya Engledow each had 6, Aubree Shaffer had 4, while Kyla Gustafson and Jayden Jones each had 2.
Marshall (14-11) now turns its undivided attention to Saturday morning’s opening round game in the IHSA Class 2A state tournament. The Lions will host Shelbyville inside McNary Gymnasium, with the winner of that game advancing to play top-seeded Teutopolis early next week in T-Town. Tipoff for Saturday’s game is scheduled for 11:00 AM. These ladies deserve a packed house inside McNary Gym to cheer them on in the tournament, so let’s pack the house.
Senior Marlee Heighton (14) reached the 1,000 point plateau in her final regular season game with 17 points against Newton (1)
Marshall's Harper Richardson (32) banked home a 30-footer to beat the buzzer ending the third qtr against Newton
Marshall starter Jayden Jones drains a 15-footer to score the Lions' first two points in the final JV game of the season
This basket by Caitlyn Hilliard accounted for the final points of the 2025-2026 regular season for Marshall
