MORAN — Marmaton Valley High’s girls may have lost more than a basketball game Tuesday.
The Wildcats lost the services of Bailey Griffith, their leading scorer and only senior, with a knee injury in the first half.
The offense grew stagnant after that, although the Wildcats clawed back to within three down the stretch in a 40-34 defeat.
The loss drops Marmaton Valley to 8-11 on the season. The Wildcats will wrap up the regular season Friday at Southeast of Cherokee before Class 1A regional action begins next week. First round pairings were to be announced today.
Griffith started out Tuesday’s contest like gangbusters, scoring nine of the Wildcats’ 13 points in the first quarter.
After she exited, Marmaton Valley struggled but stayed close.
Chetopa hit a late 3-pointer in the second quarter to take a 21-18 lead into intermission, then opened the second half with three more treys to take control.
Marmaton Valley still managed to force the Hornets’ stingers to tighten up down the stretch.
Alyson Ard’s baseline jumper with 2:15 left pulled Marmaton Valley within 35-30. Samantha Blundell scored for Chetopa to re-establish a seven-point lead, which was answered with two more free throws from Ard.
Chetopa came up dry on its next possession, and Marmaton Valley’s Kaylee Becker converted a steal and layup with under a minute left to cut the deficit to 37-34.
But Blundell got open beyond the Wildcat press for a basket with 38 seconds left. A Wildcat turnover led to a MaKayle Moore free throw for the final margin.
Wildcat head coach Sherry Bagshaw was uncertain of the severity of Griffith’s knee injury after the game, “but it looked bad,” she said.
“I thought the girls did a nice job of rebounding after the shell-shock of losing your leading scorer,” Bagshaw said. “We had girls step up for us.
“This will be a test of our character,” she said. “It’s going to be a challenge for us, but we’re up for it.”
The loss was Marmaton Valley’s second in a row after a four-game winning streak.
BOX SCORE
Chetopa (11-10-8-11—40) (FG/3pt): Moore 1-1-1-3, Ross 0/1-0-2-3, Albertson 0/1-0-1-3, Pierce 0-0-1-0, Blundell 6-2-4-14, Johnson 0-0-1-0, Conard 3/3-2-3-17. TOTALS: 10/5-5-13-40.
