Michael Pineda
MARLOW — It was a night for mixing and matching lineups when Marlow hosted Plainview. The Plainview boys did it because it could. The Lady Outlaws did it because they didn’t have a choice.
With Taylor Leippe out with an injury and Haylee Davis, Skyler Newberry and Samantha Manke fouled out, Marlow found a way, holding off the Lady Indians in a 53-52 win to improve to 2-1 on the season.
The boys’ game was void of suspense as Plainview rolled over Marlow 65-22.
In the opener, one wondered how Plainview was in the game early and how Marlow pulled it off. The Lady Indians came out ice cold, shooting 2-of-20 from the field yet only trailed 15-13.
“Defensively, I thought we played a little better than average,” Marlow coach Kirk Harris said. “Offensively, we have to play better.
“Davis played her best game tonight. She shot the ball better and was more aggressive around the rim.”
Davis carried the scoring load early for Marlow, tallying 10 points in the first half. Newberry started off slow but picked it up with six points before going to the bench with three fouls.
Plainview did most of its damage from the charity stripe in the half as it only converted four shots from the field. One shot was good from beyond the arc as Kati Weatherford’s 3-pointer gave the visitors a 22-19 lead at the half.
Davis took over early for Marlow in the third quarter, scoring four quick points to give the Lady Outlaws a 23-22 lead. The point guard finished with a game-high 19 points. Marlow maintained the lead and began to gain separation at the end of the third quarter as Davis and Sherrie Burns scored to extend the lead to 36-30. A 3-pointer by Maci Rich at the start of the fourth quarter gave Marlow a 39-30 lead.
Things began to turn against the Lady Outlaws with 4:59 remaining when Newberry fouled out. Moments later, Manke and Davis were also sent to the bench, leaving Harris holding onto a 46-39 lead with 2:47 remaining and few proven players on the floor.
It took less than a minute for Plainview to make it a one-possession game as Kenzie Hunt converted two free throws and a field goal to pull the Lady Indians within 46-43.
Marlow picked up some breathing room as Rich hit the front end of a one-and-one and Burns found Chadell George under the basket on an assist to make the score 49-43. Plainview maintained pressure and buried a couple of treys to pull within 51-49 late.
The Lady Indians had possession with a chance to tie or pull ahead only to turn it over. Avery Walker iced the game with two free throws with :08 remaining to give Marlow a 53-49 lead. Plainview nailed a 3-pointer to complete all scoring.
The supporting cast for Marlow came through in the second half, scoring 25 of the Lady Outlaws’ 34 points after scoring three points in the first half.
“We had a lot of young kids step up and make some plays down the stretch,” Harris said. “We have got to learn to play with the lineup that we have. Losing one girl (Leippe) is not a major deal, everyone just has different roles and we have not had much time to work on that in practice since she got hurt.”
George scored five of her eight points in the fourth quarter to assist in the win. Newberry, Rich, Walker and Burns each finished with six.
In the second game of the night, Plainview took control from the outset, taking a 15-2 lead after one quarter of play.
The Outlaws saw improvement throughout the next two quarters offensively, putting up six in the second quarter and eight in the third against a Plainview lineup that shuffled in different lineups throughout the contest.
Jordan Maxwell led Marlow with 12 points as it dropped to 0-3 on the season.
“That was the worst game that we have played so far,” Marlow coach Jason Wilkerson said. “We came out and played scared.”
Marlow will return to action Tuesday when it hosts Bethany in the old gym.
