Article and photos by T Ray Henry
On Saturday, February 14th, the Marshall High School girls basketball team began play in the IHSA Class 2A state tournament by hosting Shelbyville High School in the regional quarterfinal round of the Teutopolis Regional. Marshall ended the regular season with a record of 14-11, while Shelbyville ended their regular season with a record of 14-8.
Marshall began the opening quarter by scoring the first 13 points of the game before the Rams knew what hit them. Lynn Welborn opened up the scoring run by scoring inside to give the Lions a 2-0 lead. Ella Mattas then struck a three-pointer from the left side for a 5-0 lead, then Welborn put in a layup, followed by a shot by Welborn good from the left block to give them a 9-0 advantage. Addy Ross and Marlee Heighton then created a steal, and Ross passed the ball to Heighton on the left baseline. Heighton dropped in the 10-footer, and Marshall now led 11-0. Ella Mattas later picked up a hot potato in the lane and put it in for a Marshall 13-0 lead with 3:35 to go in the first quarter. For all intents and purposes, the game was decided in the first 4 minutes and 25 seconds.
Throughout the game, Marshall made line changes similar to hockey to keep players fresh after playing three games back-to-back-to-back in the final week of the regular season. After the first quarter, Marshall led Shelbyville 17-6.
In the second quarter, the Lions extended their lead by outscoring Shelbyville 20-14 before the halftime break. Lynn Welborn and Harper Richardson led the way in the second quarter by connecting on three scores each. Marlee Heighton scored twice, and Lilly Ross connected on a three-pointer and a free throw to account for Marshall’s scoring. At the half, Marshall led 37-20.
In Quarter #3, Marshall outscored Shelbyville 21-10 to take a 58-30 lead into the final quarter of play. In the third, Lynn Welborn led the Lions with 8 points. Marlee Heighton had 4, and Nya Engledow drained a three-pointer from the right wing. Harper Richardson, Ella Mattas, and Caitlyn Hilliard each scored two as Marshall never let Shelbyville get comfortable inside McNary Gymnasium.
With 6:23 to go in the fourth quarter, a three-point play by Marshall’s Lynn Welborn got the Lions a 30-point lead (63-33) to begin the running clock the rest of the way. With all of Marshall’s seniors leaving the floor in the final minutes, the Lions fans gave them a rousing ovation to mark the final time each of the seniors will play a game inside the old gym. When the final buzzer sounded, Marshall won the game by the score of 68-39 to advance to the regional semifinal round and a date with top-seeded Teutopolis, ranked Number 5 by the Associated Press.
Lynn Welborn led the Lions with 24 points, while Marlee Heighton (13) and Harper Richardson (13) each joined Welborn in double figures against the Rams. Ella Mattas added 7, Lilly Ross and Caitlyn Hilliard each had 4, and Nya Engledow finished with 3.
Harper Richardson (32) scores 2 of her 13 points against Shelbyville in the state tournament
Caitlyn Hilliard (23) goes up and scores for Marshall against Shelbyville in the state tournament
Caitlyn Hilliard (23) goes up and scores for Marshall against Shelbyville in the state tournament
Marlee Heighton being presented with the game ball from the Newton game earlier in the week when she scored the 1,000th point in her high school career. Marlee is pictured with Marshall High School girls head basketball coach Michael Henry.
