Marion Athletics -

WEST MEMPHIS --- The Marion Lady Patriots knew what they were walking into last Friday night at Lehr Arena.

A hostile crowd backing the home team in one of the state's more fierce rivalries could scare anyone.
That advantage helped West Memphis early in the first period, as Marion struggled offensively before finishing the opening frame with a 19-4 advantage and coasting to the finish line for a 50-22 victory.

Marion's fourth straight victory over West Memphis improved the Lady Pats to 4-4 in the 5A East, and MHS now is in sole possession of the final playoff berth in this season's Class 5A state basketball tournament in Farmington.

The Lady Patriots got a balanced scoring effort as Summer Morgan scored 12 points, Cortlyn Brown finished with 10 points and six rebounds, and Maliya Stallings and Jordyn Wilkerson poured in six points apiece.

West Memphis fell despite getting six points from Janesia Clay, five points from Jeremeny Briscoe, and four apiece from Selisha Granger and Maciah Ruffin.

A'layah Smith gave Marion its first double-digit lead (12-2) with 3:42 left in the first period on a layup, and the Lady Patriots led 19-4 after eight minutes of action.

Adrianna Alexander gave Marion its largest lead of the first half (28-11) on a layup with just two seconds left in the second period, and that margin held into halftime.

Morgan pushed the Lady Patriot lead to 20 points (34-13) with 6:14 left in the third with a layup, and Marion's advantage was 46-20 after three quarters.

A pair of Laniya Crayton free throws gave Marion its largest lead (50-20) late in the fourth period.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Marion hosts Nettleton on Tuesday evening at Fidelity Bank Arena. The varsity girls contest will tip off around 6 p.m., followed by the boys game around 7:30 p.m. If you can't attend the Marion-Nettleton contest, you can watch it for free on the MPAN YouTube channel.

5A EAST RESULTS FROM 2/6
Marion 50, W. Memphis 22
Greene Co. Tech 66, Paragould 28
Nettleton 65, Searcy 33
Valley View 68, Batesville 45

5A EAST STANDINGS ON 2/9
SCHOOL CONF. RECORD
Greene Co. Tech 8-0
Nettleton 7-1
Valley View 6-2
Marion 4-4
Paragould 3-5
Batesville 3-5
Searcy 1-7
W. Memphis 0-8

5A EAST GAMES ON 2/10
Nettleton at Marion
Searcy at Greene Co. Tech
Paragould at Valley View
W. Memphis at Batesville