Warrior girls win first two games of '08 years ago
Sports reporter
So far, 2008 has been good to the Marion High School girls' basketball team.
After starting the season 1-5, MHS won its first two games of the New Year this past week, defeating Ellinwood and Lyons.
The Ellinwood defeat counted toward the league standings, but with the Lyons game being the first of two between the teams this season, it only counted toward overall standings.
MHS is now 3-5 overall and 1-1 in the Mid-Central Activities Association.
The two victories alone equaled the Warriors' victory total from last year, and the Lyons game surpassed the total.
"It feels really great," sophomore Lindsay Hett said.
Fellow sophomore Kayley Heerey added: "Especially being so young. We're not used to it."
And while two victories don't equal league championships, the team should be getting used to it.
After having just one senior last year, the starting lineup has two seniors in Kimber Hardey and Lauren Helmer, and three sophomores who were in the starting lineup last year in Hett, Heerey, and Julia Zeiner.
After losing their first league game to Sterling despite holding a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter, the Warriors made sure Friday against Ellinwood to put the Eagles away early.
A 13-0 run to start the game turned in to a 37-17 halftime lead.
Zeiner's 26 points led the team to a 56-38 victory, but not before Ellinwood tried to make a run.
The Eagles cut the lead to 45-32 at the end of the third, and had a three-point attempt to cut the lead to 10.
It missed, and Zeiner hit a layup on a pass from Hett and the momentum changed back toward MHS.
Zeiner scored six of the team's next eight points, and the lead was back to 19.
After what happened against Sterling, head coach Randy Savage didn't like the fact Ellinwood was making a run.
"They tried to make it close," he said with a laugh.
The victory was the first in the Mid-Central Activities Association since 2005 for Marion.
Besides Zeiner, Heerey scored 12 points, Hett six, Helmer five, Kristen Steinborn four, Hardey two, and Bridget Lundy one.
In the Lyons game Saturday, the young Warrior players seemed ancient compared to their opponents who had just one junior and no seniors.
The starting five on the varsity team had just played a junior varsity game, although it was only two quarters.
"At first it kind of went to our heads, but then we realized we couldn't do that," Heerey said. "We realized we had to pick it up."
Leading just 18-11 at halfime, the Warriors jumped ahead 40-15 early in the fourth quarter, and coasted to a 51-23 victory.
Zeiner again led the team with 14 points, but the scoring was spread out amongst the team.
Heerey was next with 12 points, Hett 10, and Helmer six.
Lundy added four points, Hardey three, and Steinborn two.
As a team the Warriors were 2-9 from behind the three-point line, and 20-53 inside.
Savage didn't love the shooting stats, but was glad his team did what it took to win. Especially because when they got a big lead, this time, they didn't let up.
"Nobody was happy with how things were going," Savage said of the first half of play. "They played harder in the second half. To me, that's all it really was."
Hett and Heerey agreed.
While there wasn't something they could really put their finger on, the two sophomores just felt the team picked up its intensity.
Zeiner again helped with the intensity scoring eight of the team's first 11 points in the third quarter, mainly off passes from Hett.
"I don't think she knows how to jog," Savage said of Zeiner always playing hard.
He was pleased with the overall effort of everyone on the team.
He pointed out Helmer and Hardey did a good job of boxing out, Hett's play at the point guard position helped steady the offense, and he liked to see the scoring spread between his team.
The Warriors did not play Tuesday, but will hit the court Friday for a home game against league foe Hoisington.
