Marlow holds off Central High

COMANCHE - The Marlow girls led from start to finish against Central High, but the upset-minded No. 7 seed Lady Bronchos made the No. 2 seed Lady Outlaws work to the final buzzer as Marlow advanced to the semifinals of the Stephens County Tournament on Monday with a 30-24 win.

While Marlow coach Megan Robbins definitely saw some concerning things, she some positive things, too.

“I’m still playing with a group that is very inexperienced, they’re still trying to find their way through the big moments and stuff like that,” Robbins said. “We still don’t have (leading scorer and rebounder) Kentley Davis with us. She’s sick right now. She had hurt her ankle and then caught some kind of bug, so that hurt us. We’re still looking for those one or two to kind of step up in the big moment and help us lead the way. But, they competed hard and they found a way to survive and win the game.”

Things started off pretty well for the Lady Outlaws as they jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the first quarter on their way to a 12-7 advantage heading into the second.

Five of Marlow’s nine made field goals would come in the first quarter. They struggled from the field, hitting just four field goals over three quarters and had to rely on their free-throw shooting down the stretch to stay ahead of the Lady Bronchos.

Both teams scoring dropped off in the second quarter with Marlow taking a 15-11 halftime lead.

A 7-2 run to start the second quarter pushed the Lady Outlaws lead to nine points (22-13), but Central High would fight back to cut the lead to 26-21 at the end of the third quarter. Marlow did have the last possession with a 26-19 lead, but a foul with one second left put Central High’s Riley Dickerson on the line and the senior knocked down both shots for a four-point swing.

The Lady Bronchos then scored the first four points of the fourth quarter to make it a one-possession game with 4:16 to go in the game. That would be as close as they would get as Central High would not score another point the rest of the way. Mylee Moore sank one of two free-throws to make it a three point lead with 3:32 to go. Allye Haile hit two big free throws with 13 seconds left to make it a two-possession game before Carson Lovett sealed the win with a free throw with three seconds left.

“Carson’s been steady for us (at point guard),” Robbins said. “I think she’s handling pressure and things people are throwing at her a little bit better and understanding when to try to push the pace and when to slow it down. Demi Hunt was still out there competing every possession. So, there’s positives, it’s just this roller caster ride. They’ll get there, but it’s just going to take time.

Marlow advances to play Ryan this Thursday at 4 p.m. in a semifinal game. Central High will play Velma-Alma in the consolation bracket semifinal at 4 p.m. on Friday.

Scoring

Marlow (8-6): Carson Lovett, 9; Kinley Castle, 6; Demi Hunt, 5; Allye Haile, 5; Gracee Ottinger, 2; Grace Lovelady, 2; Mylee Moore, 1

Central High (5-11): Riley Dickerson, 12; Andi Standridge, 5; Rashel Johnson, 3; Kellie Archer, 3; KK Delaney, 1