Marion’s late rally stops W. Memphis

MARION 46, WEST MEMPHIS 41

MARION — Marion (11-5, 1-0 5A East) scored the last seven points Friday night at Fidelity Bank Arena to rally past Crittenden County rival West Memphis (7-4, 0-1), 46-41.

The Lady Patriots took the lead for good with 2:17 remaining in the fourth quarter when senior post Daedrianna Cail went up and under for a layup, while converting a three-point play. Cail’s free throw pushed Marion ahead 42-41.

“I was impressed how we played in the third quarter,” said Marion Coach Shunda Johnson. “We are still figuring out our identity right now, but that was a great stretch for us.”

West Memphis forced 10 Marion turnovers in the second quarter, fueling an 18-2 run to bolt into halftime ahead 2113.

Marion responded after the break Cail scored eight points in the third, while forward Taylor Little added four more. A Cail jumper from the freethrow line with 4:16 left in the third gave the Lady Pats their first lead (23-21) since the first quarter, but West Memphis led 30-26 after the third.

West Memphis led by as many as six points in the fourth quarter before Marion got four in a row points from Kiera Neal to drag the Lady Pats within a hoop at 39-37 with 3:34 remaining. Ny’Asia Jackson tied the game at 39-39 with a spinning layup with 3:01 in the fourth.

A pair of Clemisha Prackett free throws gave West Memphis a 41-39 lead with 2:46 left in the game, but Cail spun on the block underneath a defender, drew contact, finished the layup, and hit the free throw to give the hosts the lead.

Jackson hit two of four free throws down the stretch before Cail made a layup with 2.8 seconds remaining to set the final score.

Cail led all scorers with 16 points, in addition to five rebounds. Jackson had 8 points and 5 assists, and Neal pumped in 10 points for Marion.

Alayiah Price paced West Memphis with 14 points, while Prackett and Tucker added nine apiece.