Lady Jays Claw The Wildcats

by Nic Yonter

February 08, 2011

Playing state ranked opponents has become a recurring theme for the Lady Jays this year.

In a game that went back and forth, and momentum changing as many times as a new bag of popcorn was sold, Marshfield pulled it out against state-ranked Verona, 74-63.

Starting out the game with pressure defense for both squads, the game got off to a fast-paced start. The first quarter ended with the Jays grasping a slim 18-16 lead. In the second quarter, the scoring slowed down, but Marshfield still executed their offense to go into intermission with a five-point lead, 37-32.

The reason for some of the rapid momentum changes were foul trouble for both teams.

With one of Verona’s three double digit scorers, Jessica Smith, already on the bench with her third foul, another, Tristan Carrasquillo, picked up her third foul a minute into the third quarter. Just as the Lady Jays started to grab a little bit of a lead, Amanda Gourley picked up her third foul. Carrasquillo got another foul just a few minutes later and the Jays started to really score some points. They had 22 on the quarter, but the Lady Wildcats continued to score as well, adding 20 of their own.

“We had 11 first half turnovers, only one in the second half, so that was better,” said Marshfield coach Gary Murphy.

Hitting the clutch free throws at the end, Marshfield hung on for a big win and had three in double figures, Gourley, Lauren Aldridge, and Jessie Bruton

“We iced the game from the free throw line. Amanda Gourley was 14-of-16 from the line; most of those coming in the last quarter. If you are going to have the lead late in a game, you need to be able to knock down crucial free throws,” said Murphy. “I’m blessed to have some good shooters on this year’s team. I feel pretty confident when we go to the line.”

The Lady Jays travel to Blue Eye to take on the Lady Bulldogs on Thursday.

“They (Blue Eye) are a good ball club. They played four games in the Pink and White, which means they had to win a couple games. That’s a tough tournament; we only got to play three games in the tournament. Last time we played them we got beat. They are always a dangerous opponent; they are very well coached, so we will have to play well to have a chance to win,” said Murphy.