Warriors downed by Class 2A-ranked Sterling

By ALEXANDER SIMONE

Staff writer

Marion High School basketball teams suffered through a 1-3 week, capped Friday hosting the Sterling Black Bears. 

The Black Bears were hardly the team the Warriors needed to see with Sterling’s girls ranked third in Class 2A and the boys also among the state’s top teams. 

Slifer leads girls in loss

Sterling was simply too much for the Warriors to handle, with the girls falling 57-19 Friday at home.

Marion’s best production came from Jaden Slifer, who had a balanced scoring effort. Slifer made a pair of 3-pointers, two buckets from inside the arc, and converted both her free throws.

The team’s best production came in the second quarter, staying competitive with eight points to Sterling’s 12.

The problem with that was it was sandwiched between the first and third quarters. The first quarter opened Marion on a difficult note, already down 23-6 through eight minutes.

That 17 point deficit was matched coming out of the half, with Marion blanked 17-0 in the third quarter.

Despite being down 52-14 through three quarters, the Warriors refused to throw in the towel. The home team soldiered on, matching Sterling 5-5 in the fourth quarter thanks to a 3-pointer by Chloe Burkholder and a deuce by Chisholm Waner.

The lone win of the week came Tuesday with the girls snapping a three-game slide, outlasting hosting rival Sedgwick, 43-36, to bump up to three wins on the season.

Friday scoring summary: Slifer, 8 points; Burkholder, 6; Waner, 2; Abigail Stuchlik, 2; Megan Neufeld, 1.

Boys’ finish not enough

Marion boys suffered a 62-26 loss Friday to the Black Bears.

The first half spelled doom for the Warriors, as they trailed 44-15 at the break, but that was followed by a more promising second half.

The Warriors came close to matching Sterling with a score of 11-8 in the third quarter, and again in the fourth with a 7-3 total.

Marion has combated scoring troubles all season, and trying to find its groove continued Friday for the Warriors, who graduated most of their starting cast last year.

Marion had only three players tally points, but two of them ended in double figures. Bryce Mermis dropped in 11 points to lead the way, Braedon Mercer had 10, and Seth Lanning added five.

Mermis and Mercer each shouldered the load during portions of the game.

Mercer did most of his damage in the first half. He scored eight of the team’s 10 points in the second quarter, draining two 3-pointers and a 2-pointer.

Mercer took his turn coming out of the break, scoring all eight of the Warriors’ third-quarter points, also converting on two 3s and a deuce.

The boys dropped to 1-15 after the loss to Sterling, and Feb. 4’s 56-17 defeat against Sedgwick. 

The Warriors will be in action Friday, traveling to Ell-Saline.