MORAN — Stellar defense by both Marmaton Valley and Cherokee-Southeast girls made for a nail-biter on Monday night. The Wildcats emerged victorious in the late seconds, 22-21.
The game started back and forth, but Marmaton Valley used its size advantage in the early going and played stout defense. After leading by as many as five points, the Lancers cut that lead down to two, and eventually tied the game 13-13 late in the first half. A pair of Janae Granere treys and two field goals helped give the Wildcats a 15-13 edge at the half.
After the half, the Lancers did a great job of neutralizing shooting threats and forcing Marmaton Valley to rely on Granere, who was very much up to the task.
The game was tied 17-17 late in the third. Granere hit 5-6 free throws down the stretch to help the Wildcats pull away to a 22-19 lead. The Lancer defense did a great job of holding Granere in check, allowing only two baskets all night and forcing her to rely on free throws to make up most of her scoring.
A short jumper from Southeast with less than three seconds left gave the Lancers hope and made it a one-point game. They couldn’t get a shot off late as the Marmaton Valley bench celebrated the win.
“I wish we could get a little more shooting out of some of the other girls,” said head coach Becky Carlson. “They do their job and play great defense. We needed to get back on the right track.”
Granere led the Wildcats with 16 points. Aly Ard had four. Payton Scharff had two.
Marmaton Valley’s junior varsity lost a two-quarter game 11-8. Piper Barney led the way with four points. Kaitlyn Drake and Mary Brown had two.
Marmaton Valley is 8-4 and back in action tonight against Northeast-Arma.
