Merritt edges Dale in defensive struggle, wins title
Merritt’s Marlie Mong crossed halfcourt and threw up her hands, begging to get the ball.
Addison Hartman could see it after breaking away from a group of Dale defenders and gave Mong exactly what she wanted, leaping and launching a pass to her.
Mong had plenty of room to work with. The sophomore calmly took one dribbble before letting it fly from just behind the 3-point line, and her shot couldn’t have been more perfect.
“As soon as it came off my finger, I knew it was going in,” Mong said.
Mong’s attempt hit nothing but net with 51.4 seconds left, and those proved to be the final points in Class 2A thirdranked Merritt’s 25-23 victory against No. 1 Dale in the title game Saturday at State Fair Arena.
With the win, Merritt claimed its third girls basketball state championship and first since 1980.
“It’s such a great deal for our community,” Merritt coach Jeff Daugherty said. “Our community has been so supportive of everything. It’s a lot of fun right now.”
Neither offense ever got going Saturday.
Merritt hit just 9 of 35 shots (25.7%) from the field and 2 of 15 (13.3%) from 3point range, while Dale went 8 for 32 (25%) overall and 0 of 11 from behind the arc.
But Merritt (28-3) did just enough down the stretch to get the win.
After going back and forth all game, Mong’s dagger gave Merritt a muchneeded spark.
“I knew that we needed a big shot to finally get our confidence back,” Mong said. “Once I hit it, I knew that from there my teammates were going to help me play defense and pick me up and we were going to get the W.”
Mong finished with eight points after being held scoreless in the first half, while Hartman led Merritt with 11 points and seven rebounds. Chloe Stout was third on the team with four points.
Hartman was Merritt’s main offensive threat throughout the game, and her leadership throughout the state tournament played a key role in the team’s title run.
“It’s amazing,” said Hartman, a senior. “The season’s over, but it ended how we wanted.”
Daugherty couldn’t think of a game this season, win or loss, that was more frustrating offensively. Merritt’s lowestscoring performance heading into Saturday was in a 38-20 win against Hooker in January.
But as good as Dale (30-2) was defensively, it wasn’t enough because Merritt’s defense was just as impressive.
“Dale plays great defense,” Daugherty said. “They’re physical. They just play great defense.”
Leading Dale on Saturday were Teague Muncy, who had nine points and seven rebounds, and Kansas softball signee Karsen Griggs, who finished with six points and 10 rebounds. Ava Bell had four points.