Staff writer
When Katey Ehrlich scored a basket to give the Marion High School Lady Warriors a 2-1 lead over rival Hillsboro midway through the first quarter, the home Trojan crowd appeared stunned.
From that point on, it was Hillboro who did the stunning, using a stifling man-to-man defense and balanced scoring to demolish Marion, 54-25.
After Marion took the lead, Hillsboro went on a 27-4 run, going into halftime with a 28-6 lead. Marion made a run late in the game after Hillsboro began substituting freely in the fourth quarter with a 42-11 lead.
The Lady Warriors have had difficulties with turnovers in earlier games this season, and a tenacious Lady Trojan defense took advantage of that by applying full-court pressure and pushing Marion’s offense out on the perimeter for most of the game.
Lady Warrior Whitney Gordon, the team’s leading scorer in the Marion Classic tournament, was held scoreless through the first three quarter of play, collecting all 8 of her points after the outcome had long been determined. Kelli Hess scored 7, and Kaelyn Thierolf added 4 for Marion.
The Lady Warriors will try to get back on a winning track Jan. 3 when they travel to Remington to take on the Lady Broncos.