The Marshall County Lady Marshals won the 4th District championship over the Calloway County Lady Lakers on Feb. 26, after mounting a second half comeback that saw a powerful display of grit.
The Lady Lakers scored 6 straight points in the first few minutes of the game, leading the Lady Lakers Head Coach Aaron Beth to call a timeout.
The Lady Marshals scored instantly out of the timeout, but a back and forth scoring performance for both sides would leave the Lady Lakers up 20-12 at halftime.
Beth wasn’t happy with the way his team performed in the first half, saying that the weight of the game might have been a bit too much.
“I could see in their eyes that they weren’t handling the pressure like we needed too,” Beth said.
But with the pressure of the game looming large over the team, Beth said he wanted to change his team’s demeanor, opting not to be too hard on the players.
“I told them to relax and calm down,” Beth said. “Normally I’m a lot more intense than that.”
Part of getting his players to relax was changing how they viewed the scoreboard.
“I told my players that the least important score is the score at halftime,” Beth said.
After halftime the Lady Marshals came out hot, going on a 10-4 run to get within single basket of the Lady Lakers.
“At halftime we made some adjustments, especially defensively that really helped us out in the second half,” Beth said.
The changes on defense allowed the Lady Marshals to hold the Lady Lakers to 6 points in the third quarter.
Down 24-22 nearing the end of the third quarter, Lady Marshal guard Laken Schroader hit the game tying basket. That Basket marked the turning point in the game and created confidence in the team that led to a big change in demeanor, Beth said..
“We just really turned it around in the second half,” Beth said. “When we got on a rhythm we got on a roll and you could just feel the momentum switching.”
The game went back and forth in the first few minutes of the fourth quarter, leading to a consequential possession with the game tied at 30 that saw the Lady Marshals get to the free throw line.
Lady Marshal guard Eden Sandlin hit a pair of free throws to take the first lead over the Lady Lakers. With only a few minutes left, the Lady Lakers were forced to get aggressive.
The aggression from the Lady Lakers led to multiple fouls that allowed the Lady Marshals to take more free throws.
Lady Marshall guard Skylar Waller hit four those free throws and helped lead her team to a 40-32 victory over the Lady Lakers.
Waller led the Lady Marshals in points with 13 and was honored as a member of the All District Team. Her teammates Addi Wall, Eden Sandlin, and Kenzlee Terry were also made members of the All District Team.
Waller isn’t concerned with the personal success, saying that what means more to her is the pride she feels for the team and everything they were able to accomplish despite some adversity.
“We worked so hard for this moment,” Waller said. “We knew what we had to do to win tonight and we went out and got it done.”
The Lady Marshals are now in the first region tournament where they will compete for a chance at the Sweet 16 at Rupp arena later this month.
After beating Fulton County in the first round on March 3, the Lady Marshals will take on the McCracken County Lady Mustangs at 6 p.m., Friday, March 7 in the CFSB Center.
