Freshman Jerzy Bittle led a third-quarter scoring drive on Friday night that brought the Marion High School Lady Wildcats within four points of the Hamilton County Lady Foxes.
And that was the closest Marion got in the final game in the Heartland Regional Medical Center Lady Cats Tip-Off Classic
Hamilton County came away with a 50-33 win and the tourney's first-place trophy.
But for her effort, Bittle's efforts earned her a spot on the All-Tournament Team, along with Hamilton County's Kolby Brake and Grace Lueke, Vienna's Addison Bent and Emma Rush, Layla Wade from Herrin, and Farrah Castleman from Massac County.
Lady Foxes' forward Brake definitely slowed Marion's drive to score and rebound, and once the tournament's MVP had the ball, there wasn't much that could stop the freshman.
Brake, along with senior teammate Lueke, led the Lady Foxes' scoring with 16 points each.
But Bittle was the game's leading scorer, with 18 points, including two second-quarter three-pointers. A three-pointer and two free throws got the Lady Cats rolling in the third quarter.
Addi Wall came off the bench in the third quarter to sink a three-pointer for the Cats.
Gracie Connor put away four two-pointers, including one in the third quarter. Alexis Hutchcraft added two points to the third-quarter run.
"We had some moments," said Lady Wildcats' head coach Mike Manfredo. "We kind of struggled along ... quite a few turnovers in the first half.
"In the third quarter, we kind of turned it around a bit and we had a nice run. There for five or six minutes, we had it within four points, but we ran out of gas," Manfredo said.
Herrin bests Lady Cats, 44-29
Bittle had a second-half run on Thursday night against the Herrin Lady Tigers, leading the game's scoring with 16 points, including two three-pointers.
But Herrin's Layla Wade answered back with 15 points, leading the Lady Tigers to a 44-29 win.
Marion's Connor had seven points, all in the first period, while freshman guard Gabby Shrum put up two points in the fourth quarter. Meagan Dillon scored two points while Karris Rhine knocked down two free throws and Hutchcraft put away one.
In all, Coach Manfredo says the Lady Cats tourney was a valuable experience for his young team, to "see how they handle the adversity and pressure, playing against older kids."
Marion's season won't be getting any easier, Manfredo said.
The Lady Wildcats begin South Seven Conference play at home tonight against Centralia.
Lady Wildcats end tourney at 0-4
updated: 11/25/2019 9:30 AM
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