Marion Athletics -

PARAGOULD --- Entering the final four-game stretch of the 2025-2026 basketball season, the Marion Lady Patriots know that every contest is crucial.

So, erasing a 10-point deficit on the road goes a long way.

Marion did just that on Tuesday evening after falling behind 24-14 early in the second period to rally for a 56-53 victory at Doc Paynter Court that kept the Lady Patriots in possession of the fourth and final playoff spot for this season's state basketball tournament.

The Lady Patriots host Batesville Friday night inside Fidelity Bank Arena, a contest that will break a fourth-place tie and give the winner a one-game edge for the playoffs with two games to play.
Tip-off of the girls game will be approximately 6 p.m.

Five Lady Patriots scored at Paragould, led by junior Summer Morgan's 21 points, while freshman Cortlyn Brown poured in 19 points and nine rebounds. Maliya Stallings, Jordyn Wilkerson, and A'layah Smith finished with five points apiece.

Paragould got big games from Kenzie Snyder (17 points) and Hadley Luke, who scored 15 points.
The Lady Rams scored the game's first six points and led 17-14 after a quarter, and the hosts earned that 24-14 advantage with 5:31 left in the second quarter when Luke scored on a stickback.

That's when Marion hit the comeback trail, closing the first half on a 13-0 run to take a 27-24 lead at halftime.

The run began with a pair of Morgan free throws, followed by layups by Brown and Stallings, and Marion got even at 24 when Morgan scored on a runner with 2:33 left in the first half.

Brown intercepted a Paragould pass and turned it into a layup with 1:27 left in the first half for a 26-24 Lady Pat lead, and a Stallings free throw set the halftime tally.

Marion pushed its lead to 30-24 early in the third quarter, but the Lady Rams got within 42-39 by the end of the frame, setting the stage for the final, frantic fourth period.

A pair of Luke free throws got Paragould even at 51 with 2:30 left in regulation, but Wilkerson shot Marion back in front with a free throw, which led to a Snyder layup with 1:28 left that gave the Lady Rams a 53-52 lead to force a Marion timeout.

That lead held until 26.7 seconds remained when Wilkerson found a slashing Stallings for a go-ahead layup that gave Marion a 54-53 advantage.

A pair of Wilkerson free throws clinched the final score.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Marion hosts Batesville on Friday, February 20, as the Patriots continue 5A East play. The Marion-Batesville girls varsity contest will tipoff around 6 p.m., followed by the boys game around 7:30. You can watch the Marion-Batesville girls and boys varsity games for free on the MPAN YouTube channel.

5A EAST RESULTS FROM 2/17
Marion 56, Paragould 53
Greene Co. Tech 59, W. Memphis 15
Batesville 69, Nettleton 61
Valley View 65, Searcy 52

5A EAST STANDINGS ON 2/18
SCHOOL CONF. RECORD
Greene Co. Tech 11-0
Valley View 10-2
Nettleton 8-3
Marion 6-5
Batesville 6-5
Paragould 3-8
Searcy 1-10
W. Memphis 0-11

5A EAST GAMES ON 2/20
Batesville at Marion
Valley View at Greene Co. Tech
W. Memphis at Nettleton
Paragould at Searcy