The Gazette-Enterprise

MARION — It was deja vu all over again when the Marion and La Vernia girls basketball teams met Friday night, but there were two notable exceptions.

1). The teams played at Marion as opposed to La Vernia like they did on Jan. 8.

2). This game required more than four quarters to play as the teams went into overtime with the score tied at 49 after regulation.

But the end result was the same as La Vernia held Marion without a field goal in the extra session to walk away with a 57-52 victory at Marion High School.

Marion (19-8, 2-2 in District 26-3A) now finds itself in a second-place tie with Luling (2-2 in 26-3A), trailing La Vernia (4-0 in 26-3A) by two games in the district standings. La Vernia also beat Marion, 49-47, on Jan. 8, and the Lady Bears can clinch a playoff berth with a win over West Campus (0-4 in 26-3A) on Tuesday.

Marion visits Luling at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. The Bulldogs can clinch a spot in the playoffs with wins over Luling and West Campus, respectively, in their next two games and a West Campus loss to La Vernia on Tuesday.

Friday’s contest featured double-digit leads, numerous turnovers and physical play by both teams. Marion led by as much 11, 26-15, in the second quarter, and La Vernia’s largest lead was 10, 40-30, in the third.

Marion built a 29-22 lead at halftime, but La Vernia came out of the locker room with a mission as the Lady Bears outscored the Bulldogs, 18-1, to start the third quarter. Six-foot post Chelsea McMeans, who was held scoreless in the first half, scored 4 points during that spurt, while Ashley Green and Chanel McCarthy scored 5 and 4 points, respectively.

The run gave La Vernia a 40-30 lead, but Marion didn’t lay down for the Lady Bears.

The Bulldogs closed out the third on a 10-0 run behind 4 points from Kalynn White and 3 from Mackenzie Langemeier to tie the game at 40 entering the fourth quarter.

The final frame featured missed opportunities by both teams, and each squad hit just two field goals in the eight-minute span. Langemeier scored 7 points in the fourth, including a 3-pointer to give Marion a 49-47 lead with 41 seconds left.

Following Langemeier’s trifecta, the Bulldogs had two opportunities to put the game away. But a missed shot on the front end of a one-and-one and a turnover on a fastbreak attempt kept La Vernia alive, and Tracey Key’s floater with 14 seconds remaining tied the game at 49, and ultimately sent the game into overtime. Key’s game-tying shot provided the guard with her only points of the night.

In overtime, Marion won the tip, where Langemeier drove to the basket and drew a foul. She hit the second of two free throw attempts to give Marion a 50-49 lead.

However, that was the final lead the Bulldogs would enjoy as McMeans scored 6 points and Green hit a free throw to put La Vernia up, 56-50, with less than two minutes to go.

White hit a pair off free throws with 26 seconds left to pull Marion within four, 56-52, but that was as close as the Bulldogs got as Green hit another free throw, and Kasey Haecker’s desperation 3-point shot hit the front of the rim as time expired.

Haecker was a pivotal player for Marion in the first half as she scored all 8 of her points in the first two quarters. She also pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.

After falling behind 13-12 at the end of the first quarter, the Bulldogs used a 14-2 run to take their biggest lead of the game, 26-15.

Haecker and Sunnye Baskin each had 5 points during the spurt.

Marion was led by Langemeier’s 17 points and White’s 11. McCarthy led La Vernia with 15 points, while Green and McMeans scored 13 and 12, respectively.

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