Inman up next Thursday at Hillsboro

By DAVID COLBURN

News editor

After a lackluster first half Monday, Marion High’s girls’ basketball team turned up the heat on both ends of the floor to earn a 40-24 victory over Herington.

The only one scoring for Marion in the first quarter was Kourtney Hansen, who staked the team to an 8-5 lead. The Warriors made good on just 25 percent of their opening period possessions, victims of poor ball-handling and poor shooting.

Hansen opened the second quarter with a score, but a series of miscues and missed shots kept both teams off the board until Sam Richmond scored with 3:46 remaining to put Marion up 12-5. Herington closed out the quarter on an 8-4 run to trail 16-13 at the half. Hansen went into the locker room with 14 of Marion’s 16 points.

Hansen and Courtney Herzet canned baskets at the outset of the third quarter, and a trey by Richmond put Marion up 23-13. Clamping down on defense and slicing in for steal after steal, the Warriors ran their lead to 29-17 at the end of the quarter.

A basket and free throw by Jessi Lewman early in the fourth sparked a 9-0 Marion run that ended when Herington scored its first bucket of the quarter with just 1:43 remaining. Corinna Crabb’s driving score capped off a 40-24 win.

Hansen led the Warriors with 22 points, and had more points than Herington on her own until late in the fourth quarter. Richmond scored 8.

Marion will face off against Inman, 44-43 winners over Moundridge, at 6 p.m. Thursday at Hillsboro. Marion beat Inman 40-37 in February.

The other Thursday semifinal is a rematch of Goessel and Berean Academy.

The championship game will be at 6 p.m. Saturday at Hillsboro.