Marlington Uses Late Run to End Drought Against Louisville

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Marlington 44, Louisville 42

Marlington finished the game on a 15-2 run to win their first home game against Louisville since 1996. The Dukes won the nail-biter 44-42 to drop the Lady Leopards to 4-8 overall and 4-3 in the NBC. Hollyann Mullett scored a game-high 18 points to lead Louisville.

Things were looking up for Louisville early on in the fourth quarter. Sabryna Benzel shot and made the Leopards first two free throws of the contest to cap off an 8-0 run that gave the Lady Leopards a  40-29 advantage with 5:35 left to play.

Then the bottom fell out. Every ball seemed to bounce the Dukes way and the Leopards managed Beatty's Sports Leopard Hoodiejust one field goal over the final minutes of play. Marlington’s Morgan Penird buried 2 clutch three-pointers and scored 8 of her team-high 15 points in the final quarter to spark the run. Sierra Mayle, who finished with 12, also hit back-to-back free throws to give the Dukes the lead at 43-42 with 1:03 left.

Ali Rodgers also provided a key block with just seconds remaining to stop one of the Leopards final chances. She would also score 12 for the Dukes, 7 of which came in the opening quarter. Marlington improved to 8-4 overall and 5-2 in NBC play with the victory.

A key difference in the contest was at the free throw line. Marlington converted 12 of 18 shots from the line compared to Louisville who made 2 shots on just 4 attempts.

A controversial call at the end of the first half arguably also decided the outcome. Mayle charged down the lane for Marlington drawing a whistle and making the shot. One referee signaled for a charge the other called a block on Louisville. After a lengthy deliberation the Dukes were awarded 2 points and the free throw. On the missed attempt Mayle grabbed her own rebound and laid it home. What could have been called a charge in favor of the Leopards resulted in four points for the Dukes.

Abby Beaver also scored 7 to go along with 5 assists and Benzel added 5 for the Lady Leps. Taylor Noble and Rachel Zeller also grabbed 7 rebounds each for Louisville. Despite the loss, the Leopards out-rebounded the Dukes 29-22.

Even with the defeat, Louisville still leads the all-time series 59-17 which includes a 31-6 mark at Marlington. The Leopards have won 31 out of the last 33 games against the Dukes with the only other loss coming at home in 2009. The loss snaps Louisville’s 16 game winning streak at Marlington. The Dukes last won at home against the Leopards 48-38 on December 28, 1996.

UP NEXT: The Lady Leopards will next host the West Branch Warriors on Saturday, January 11. JV will begin at 12:00 and Varsity will follow at approximately 1:30.

VARSITY STATISTICS

DUKES 44, LEOPARDS 42

LEOPARDS: Mullett 8 0-0 18, Beaver 3 0-0 7, Benzel 1 2-2 5, Lairson 2 0-0 4, Zeller 2 0-2 4, Layton 1 0-0 2, Noble 1 0-0 2. TOTAL 18 2-4 42.

3-Pointers (4): Mullett (2), Beaver, Benzel

Team FG: 14-46 30%

Team 3PT: 4-18 22%

Team FT: 2-4 50%

DUKES: Penird 5 2-2 15, Mayle 4 4-6 12, Rodgers 3 5-8 12, Powers 2 0-0 4, Kennedy 0 1-2 1. TOTAL 14 12-18 44.

3-Pointers (4): Penird (3), Rodgers

Team FG: 14-40 35%

Team 3PT: 4-15 27%

Team FT: 12-18 67%

Team 1-2-3-4–TOTAL

Louisville 8-13-13-8–42

Marlington 10-11-8-15–44

Fouls: 17-11 Louisville

Turnovers: 24-20 Louisville

Rebounds: 29-22 Louisville

Records: Marlington 8-4, 5-2; Louisville 4-8, 4-3.

JV: Louisville 38, Marlington 19

Marlington took an early 6-0 lead, but Louisville dominated after that in doubling up the Dukes 38-19. With the victory, the Lady Leopards improve to 4-8 overall and 3-4 against NBC foes.

Alexa Oberster led the way with a game-high 12 points for Louisville. Danielle Walter also hit 2 three-pointers & tallied 10 points, and Hailey Miller scored 6.

The Leopards answered the Dukes opening run with a 14-0 run themselves. During the run they shutout Marlington for longer than an eight minute stretch.

The Dukes did not make a single three-pointer or free throw during the entire contest. Danae Greco led Marlington with a team-high 6 points.

JV STATISTICS

LEOPARDS 38, DUKES 19

LEOPARDS: Oberster 5 2-4 12, Danielle Walter 4 0-0 10, Miller 2 2-2 6, Joseph 1 2-5 4, Shea 1 0-0 2, Speher 0 2-2 2, Shea 1 0-0 2, Kiko 0 0-1 0. TOTAL 15 8-14 38.

3-Pointers (2): Walter (2)

Team FT: 8-14 57%

DUKES: Greco 3 0-0 6, Brodzinski 2 0-0 4, Rummell 2 0-0 4, Buck 1 1-1 3, Mitchell 1 0-0 2. TOTAL 9 0-1 19.

3-Pointers: None

Team FT: 0-1 0%

Team 1-2-3-4–TOTAL

Louisville 10-12-10-6–38

Marlington 6-7-4-2–19

Fouls: 14-10 Marlington

Turnovers: 24-19 Marlington

Records: Louisville 4-8, 3-4

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