After falling in two consecutive Class 4A state title games to their rival in 2005-06 and 2006-07, the Marist Lady War Eagles posted a 63-47 victory over St. Pius X Tuesday night.
Led by senior Dana Middleton’s 28 points, the Marist offense scored mostly from attacking the basket. On the defensive end, Senior Kristin Meier’s work led to her nine transition points.
As St. Pius fought to regain the lead, 15 points from Jessica Crews a Nikki Reed’s near double-double of 10 points and eight rebounds were still not enough for the win.
“It is disappointing,” said Stephanie Dunn, head coach of the Golden Lions. “But this is still a young team.”
“We’ve graduated so many players, and so have they,” said Marist head coach Kimberly Hixon. “There’s still a lot of maturing.”
After an initial two-point lead, the Golden Lions trailed by five at the end of the first quarter. Then, fast breaks put Marist in front by 13 midway through the second. Just as the St. Pius defense brought the game to within two possessions, a Lady Eagles run put Marist up 31-23 going into the half.
Solid play on both ends of the floor gave Marist the advantage, as St. Pius struggled to get things going. Ahead by nine at the end of the third, the Lady Eagles capitalized on forced turnovers and gained second chances from offensive rebounds.
Going into the fourth quarter and down 45-36, the Golden Lions just simply could not recover. Shooting only 35 percent from the field and 58 percent from the line, missed opportunities on offense were the downfall of the Lady Golden Lions.
Marist will face Forsyth Central in its next matchup, and St. Pius X faces Grady on Friday at 6 p.m.
Mann can be reached at christa.mann@gmail.com.
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