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Marietta’s Leigha Lauer (4) powers through contact and puts up a shot during a high school girls basketball game against Martins Ferry Wednesday at Sutton Gym.
(Photo by Mike Morrison)
Still in recovery mode after incredibly successful seasons of both soccer and volleyball in the fall the Marietta Tiger girls basketball team showed a little rust for the better part of three quarters in Tuesday night’s home opener against Martins Ferry.
The Tigers shook off that rust and found their true colors late in the third period and they did in a big way as they turned a close ball game into a runaway 61-33 win to improve to 2-0 on the season.
“We are a couple of weeks behind with a great soccer run and a great volleyball run which is great because I think that helps with the winning process,” said second-year Tiger head coach Ryan McClain. “They know how to win tough games, it’s just knocking off the rust on the basketball skills a little bit.”
Tiger junior Leigha Lauer tossed in 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the way for the Tigers who finished the game on a 28-5 run to turn a five- point third quarter lead into a 29-point blowout win.
The Tigers showed flashes all game long including in the opening quarter when they finished the period on a 12-1 run to open up a 14-7 lead.
Marietta’s Saylor Wharff, center, attacks the basket during a high school girls basketball game against Martins Ferry Wednesday at Sutton Gymnasium.
(Photo by Mike Morrison)
The Purple Riders came charging back in the second period as they went on an 11-2 run of their own that saw them take a two-point lead off of back-to-back buckets by junior Lindsey Best.
Marietta jumped back in front on a three-pointer by senior Saylor Wharff but Martins Ferry fought back to tie the score at 22-22 with 48 seconds to play in the half.
Martins Ferry’s plans to take the final shot of the half were spoiled by the athletic Lauer who deflected a pass and ended up securing the ball and beating everyone to the basket for a buzzer-beating lay-up to send the home team to the locker room with a 24-22 lead.
“Leigha’s an incredible talent and she’s the head of the wolfpack,” joked McClain applauding the athletic ability of his junior leader. “We are fortunate that we can have a different leader every night and that’s nice to have.”
Marietta shot 34 percent in the opening half while connecting on just two-of 17 shots from behind the arc.
Junior Alyssa Baker got the second half started in a positive way when she canned a triple to extend the Tiger lead to five and minutes later free throws by Jacey McKnight and Lauer made it a 31-23 lead midway through the quarter.
The Purple Riders continued to stay within striking distance and a three-pointer by Maddie Lucas cut the Tiger lead to five.
A pair of freebies by Lauer followed by a rainbow three from behind the arc by McKnight gave the Tigers some momentum and a 10-point lead heading to the final quarter.
Things started well for Martins Ferry in the final period as Best scored the first two points but it would be all Tigers the rest of the way as they out-pointed the Riders 23-3 down the stretch to run away with the win.
Wharff knocked down her third triple of the game early on in the quarter and the job she did coming in off the Tiger bench did not go unnoticed by her head coach.
“Saylor gave us a punch off of the bench and it’s nice to have that because some teams don’t,” said McClain. “She’s a spark plug and a fantastic kid and with her success in golf she knows high pressure and doesn’t ever get rattled.”
Lauer scored three consecutive field goals and tallied eight points in the final quarter.
McClain was pleased to see things come together for his squad after a bit of struggle for the first three quarters.
“It’s a team effort with us, Maddie Hogue gets after it on defense, Alyssa Baker kind of controls the game and the other girls all gave us good minutes,” said McClain. “We’ve got a really good team and a heck of a player in Leigha Lauer and are able to make adjustments so quickly.”
In addition to Lauer’s game-high 23 points, Wharff added 11 while McKnight and Maddie Hogue added eight and six points respectively.
Best led the way for Martins Ferry with 17.
The Tigers will return home Thursday night when they host Nelsonville-York looking to start the season 3-0.