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Magnolia Falls To St. Marys

Photo by Bruce Crawford Magnolia junior guard Jordan Delaney attempts one of her four baskets from beyond the arch during Monday’s game against St. Marys.

NEW MARTINSVILLE — Magnolia hosted St. Marys on Monday evening in a back-and-forth battle, but it was the Blue Devils who made the most plays in the final seconds to outlast the Blue Eagles, 56-52.

Magnolia’s Jordan Delaney and St. Marys’ Jordan Fox supplied clutch shots throughout the game as Delaney paced Magnolia with 21 points and Fox led St. Marys with 29.

Magnolia (5-4) trailed by three with 52 seconds left when Delaney delivered a game-tying 3-pointer to knot the game at 52-52.

Fox followed Delaney’s bucket by drawing a foul in the lane and giving St. Marys the edge at the line by dropping in both shots with 28 seconds remaining.

The Blue Eagles had an opportunity to tie the game once more but were unsuccessful. The Blue Devils then raced down the court and missed an inside shot as well.

Magnolia came away with the rebound but Jenna Nichols collected a key steal for St. Marys (5-3) with six seconds to go and laid it in for an easy basket to seal the victory for the Devils.

“It was just a battle,” St. Marys coach Howard Meeks said. “We are pleased with the victory. There were a lot of unsung heroes and it was a total team effort.”

Delaney and Fox took over in the second half as they combined for the final 17 of 18 points of the third quarter, in a 37-37 deadlock entering the fourth quarter.

Delaney collected eight of those points with a pair of 3-pointers, while Fox answered with nine points on three 3-pointers.

Fox led all scorers in the third quarter with 14 points, while Delaney garnered eight points in the frame.

“This was one of Delaney’s better basketball games,” Magnolia coach Tom Tisher said. “We started out 0-3 this year and then won five straight games. We are getting better at a lot of things but there is still a lot of things to go. That is why we play 22 games.”

Fox was dealing with flu symptoms leading up to the game and Meeks was contemplating whether to start her or not.

“She has had the flu for the last few days,” Meeks said. “I wasn’t going to let her play unless she ate something. All she ate was a cracker and everyone told me that she ate. I don’t know where she found the energy in the second half.”

The first half was a game of streaks as St. Marys reeled off eight in a row to go up by an 8-4 edge early in the first but Magnolia closed the opening quarter with seven consecutive points to lead 11-8.

Following a quick basket by Kelsi Chapman, St. Marys went on a 9-0 run to retake the lead by a 17-13 count but after each team swapped buckets, the Eagles struck for nine straight points to finish the half, taking a 24-19 advantage into the locker room.

Taylor Ludewig and Chapman each had seven points at the break for Magnolia, while Kylee Buzzard tallied seven for St. Marys in the first half as well.

Magnolia held a three-point edge when the battle between Delaney and Fox picked up and the game was tied heading to the final eight minutes of action.

Both Delaney and Fox continued to heat up as they each recorded nine points in the fourth quarter.

Chapman, who was honored before the game with a game ball honoring her 1,000 career point, finished with 12 points for the Eagles, while Ludewig added nine.

Buzzard provided nine points for the Blue Devils and Addie Furr finished with eight in the victory.

John Marshall 73, Weir 24

WEIRTON — John Marshall’s Big 3 each scored in double figures and the Monarchs held Weir to six second-half points in a rout of the Red Riders.

Shay Straughn led the way with 18 points, followed by Grace Frohnapfel with 17 points and Avery Derrow with 15.

Julia Gianni and Sophia Mikula each had seven points to lead Weir.

Shenandoah 57, St. John Central 32

BELLAIRE — Shenandoah roared back from a three-point halftime deficit to down St. John.

Taylor Franklin led the Zeps with 18 points.

Madison DeLuca and Taylor Lowe each netted eight points for the Irish. Kaylin Nixon added seven tallies.

Valley 58, Clay-Battelle 50

BLACKSVILLE — Valley improved to 7-1 behind a game-high 27 points from Sophie Palmer in a victory against Clay-Battelle.

Caitlyn Underwood chipped in with 13 points for the Lumberjills.

Monroe Central 51, River 44

HANNIBAL — Allison Kuhn went for 22 points as Monroe Central knocked off River.

Taryn Burkhart added 11 points and Marlee Miller had 10 for the Seminoles (6-6).

Lauren Flannery paced the Pilots with 22 points.

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