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Lady Marauders put clamps on Plano East
BY JUSTIN THOMAS, jthomas@acnpapers.com
FLOWER MOUND -- As the District 8-5A girls basketball season continues to progress, so to does the defense of Marcus.
That much was evident Tuesday, as the Lady Marauders shut down a Plano East squad that had previously posted 72 points against them in a 39-29 victory.
The win gives Marcus (6-2) sole possession of second ahead of East (5-3) and two games back of first-place Plano West.
Marcus trailed, 11-5, after the first quarter but turned it around from there, outscoring the Lady Panthers in each of the final three frames, including 15-9 in the fourth.
East's Jordan Goforth knocked down a 3-pointer with three minutes remaining to get the Lady Panthers within three at 32-29, but the Marcus defense rose up and the Lady Marauders converted their free throws in the final two minutes to seal the win.
"We got up by three or four in the first quarter but other than that we were very slow and sluggish," said LaGwenna Morrow, East coach. "Our shooting was definitely off today. At least the few shots we were able to get off. But they've improved their defensive stance. They've been holding a lot of district teams to low points with their great defense. That matchup zone gave us problems."
Morrow said the squad struggled to make shots early, but weren't getting good looks or taking good shots late.
Jasmine Caston led the Lady Panthers with eight points, while Goforth had seven.
Marcus had a balanced attack on the offensive end receiving 11 points from Sierra Bone, six apiece from Shannon Malone and Jessie O'Malley and five each from Ashley James and Vanessa Jones.
"I think the combination of everyone they have as a group was outstanding," Morrow said of Marcus. "They didn't have one player, but everyone contributed unlike us today."
In addition to defense and play off the bench, Jones credited Marcus' rebounding in the win.
"Rebounding was one our main emphasis and we talked about head-hunting and boxing out," he said. "They have two great posts down low and have some big-time players. It was tough to keep them in check. I think they out-rebounded us by one, but that's good against Plano East."
The Lady Panthers look to bounce back at 7:30 p.m. Friday against Plano West.
"Right now, we're starting over," Morrow said. "We're not playing nearly to our potential and we need to step up our game."
Marcus seeks its sixth consecutive win in district at 6 p.m. Friday at Flower Mound.
"I wish we could be more a little more effectively offensively," Jones said. "It comes down to making shots. We do a lot of shooting in practice, but you can't simulate the in-game situations. But we're getting a lot of experience of having to make shots in intense district games and hopefully we can keep it up."
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