Lady Wildcats beat Mascoutah at tournament

CARBONDALE -- Jasa Bell scored 22 points to lead three players in double figures as the Marion High School girls basketball team downed Mascoutah, 56-46, Friday at the 39th annual Carbondale Mid-Winter Classic.
Marion snapped a four-game losing skid with the win and improved to 11-9 for the season, eclipsing last season's win total.
Abby Bayer added 11 points and McKenzie Orange had 10 for the Lady Wildcats, who led by as many as 24 points in the first half.
Bell had eight points in the first quarter as Marion jumped out to a 14-point lead, then scored the first two baskets of the second period to make it 22-4.
The lead was 27-6 after Jackie Drury scored and at 29-9 with a pair of free throws by Lauryn Kadela, then crested at 35-11 at the 2:45 mark of the frame following consecutive buckets from Orange.
Marion went into halftime with a 38-17 advantage. Six more points from Bell and a jumper by Maddie Goodley put the lead at 46-26 going into the fourth.
Bell's last two hoops made it 50-28 and then Mascoutah went on a furious rally against the Marion bench to get within 10 points in the final minute.
Amaya Keeling led that charge with 16 of her 31 points in the fourth quarter. Keeling, who didn't score in the first period, hit four of her six 3-pointers in the final minutes.
The Lady Wildcats are now 1-1 in the tournament and conclude the event Saturday against Massac County at 12:30 p.m.