Marion girls claim first championship

Sheridan played its best basketball in the second and third quarters but fell prey to Marion’s superior rebounding and 46-percent shooting for a 50-40 win in the Class 6A girls’ championship game Friday night at Bank of the Ozarks Arena.

“I’m just so happy that they withstood the run, and they executed down the stretch,” said Marion head coach Shunda Johnson. “I hope that we showed that rebounding can help you build championships.”

It was the first state championship for Marion, which downed Lake Hamilton in the state semifinals at Wolf Arena. Sheridan defeated host Lake Hamilton in the 6A-West final.

Marion (25-8) pulled down 11 rebounds in the fourth quarter and outscored Sheridan 16-10. The Lady Patriots finished with 29 rebounds, 17 on the defensive end, to Sheridan’s 19.

Tramauryia Hunter led the Lady Patriots with 13 points, four rebounds and four steals, and Jakyya Clay added 12 with five rebounds.

Sheridan’s Diamond Morris scored 14 points, Madison Raney adding 10 with eight rebounds.

Clay scored half of her team’s points in a 12-2 run before Sheridan made a three at the buzzer. “They just gave me the ball at the right time,” she said. “When they get me the ball at the right time, I finish at the basket. I made it happen.”

Strong rebounding by Raney and Savannah Howard along with clutch shooting by Morris helped the Lady Yellowjackets pull within 23-19 by halftime. Marion kept pace in the third quarter, leading 34-30 at the last break.

Even with the state championship, Marion coach Shunda Johnson is thinking about next season.

“I feel like after spring break, the rising sophomores are going to have to come in and work,” she said. “I’m hoping and praying that they buy into the system because these girls really worked. They’ve worked since the summertime. They’ve worked every year they’ve been with us, and they’ve gotten better every year. The only thing I asked them tonight was to give us your best basketball, and they gave us that at the right time.”

Sheridan staggered under early 22-percent shooting. Still, “It was an incredible season that we put together,” said Jamison Ingram. “I’m really proud of the run that we put together in the last two to two and a half weeks. It seems like it’s been going on for months. The conference tournament that we played in this year was tough. We couldn’t be more proud of their effort and to just ask them to do it over and over and over again.”

Sheridan’s defense struggled to keep the lane clear, allowing Marion to drive the lane repeatedly.

“We struggled mostly with blocking out,” Ingram said. “We let them get into the lane way more than we wanted them to. We knew that we had to do to have success against them. The things that really stick out in my head were the second chances. We knew 21 (Clay) and 25 (Hunter) were extremely good.”