23rd article at the Independent

PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL: Marshall takes out Sioux Falls Roosevelt to close regular season

CHRIS DRUMMOND

cdrummond@marshallindepent.com

MARSHALL — After a tough loss to Hill-Murray on Saturday, the Marshall girls basketball team looked to close out the regular season on a strong note against Sioux Falls Roosevelt (S.D.). Using a balanced scoring attack, Marshall earned a double-digit halftime lead and didn’t look back en route to a 66-46 victory on Thursday.

It was a slow start for both teams as the Rough Riders took the lead in a couple of instances and controlled the pace of the game early. However, Marshall would close the half on an 18-7 run giving them a 33-20 lead going into halftime. There were 38 fouls combined for both teams called in the game and Marshall head coach Dan Westby elaborated on playing in a game like that.

“No we really haven’t played in a game like that, it was a physical game,” Westby said. “There were a lot of fouls, we were a little out of control at times but our kids played more assertively in the second half and we got to the free-throw line.”

In the second half, the Tigers would never let the lead get below the halftime margin, which was 13. Tigers guard Ashleigh Steinbach had a game-high in scoring with 22 points.

Thursday’s victory marked the 21st win of the season for Marshall as they ready themselves for the section tournament, which starts next Tuesday. Coach Westby assessed his team’s overall performance and talked about getting ready for the tournament.

“It was a hard-fought win where you had to earn everything,” Westby said. “This time of the year to get a 20-point win, we’ll take that. We will open up Tuesday, everybody is 0-0, so we’re going to have be ready to go because our section is loaded from top to bottom.”

Katie Spicer for the Rough Riders led her team in scoring with 19 points.

Marshall’s section opponent will be determined over the weekend.

Marshall 66,

Sioux Falls Roosevelt (S.D.) 46

SF Roosevelt 20 26 – 46

Marshall 33 33 – 66

Scoring: Marshall (Steinbach 5-10, 9-11 22; Wendorff 4-5, 3-6 12; Simpson 2-10, 3-4 7; Bednarek 1-3, 4-4 7; Jones 3-6, 0-0 6; Panka 2-4, 2-2 6; Andries 2-3, 0-0 4; Wegner 0-1, 2-2 2).

Rebounds: Marshall 37 (Simpson 8; Steinbach, Wendorff 7; Jones 5; Bednarek, Wegner 4; Bjella, Panka 1).

Assists: Marshall 19 (Simpson 7; Steinbach, Panka, Bednarek 3; Wherry, Wendorff 1).

Steals: Marshall 2 (Wherry, Bednarek 1).