Marion takes down defending-champion Harlan

DES MOINES — They have unseated the queen. Now, the quest for the Marion Indians is a throne of their own.

Seventh-ranked Marion struck two-time defending champion Harlan with an early series of 3-point jabs, built an 18-point lead and held on for a 46-38 victory in Wednesday's Class 4A quarterfinal at the girls' state basketball tournament at Wells Fargo Arena.

'We didn't have anything to lose,' said Marion's Chloe Rice. 'We played with a lot of energy from the start.'

The Indians (20-4) won their 13th consecutive game and advanced to Friday's semifinal against No. 8 Pella. The Dutch (22-2) upset No. 2 Lewis Central, 47-41, Wednesday.

Tipoff is 11:45 a.m.

Marion possesses an extremely youthful lineup — three sophomores and two freshmen make up the starting five, and the top three reserves are a junior, a sophomore and a freshman — but Corby Laube's mantra is pretty simple:

Why wait?

'We want to do it now,' he said, referring to a state championship.

Taylor Frederick was a major cog in Harlan's recent run, but the Indians stymied the 6-foot-1 post in building a big lead. A signee of the University of South Dakota, Frederick was scoreless in the first half and Marion built a 20-6 halftime advantage.

'One thing in practice, we play against some tall coaches,' said Mia Laube, a sophomore and Corby's eldest daughter. 'They push us around a lot, so we're prepared for the big girls.'

Marion had six field goals in the first half. All were 3-pointers, including three by Maddie Knapp.

'We were making shots,' said freshman Sophie Willette. 'We were beating their zone.'

And they weren't beating themselves. Marion went the entire first half without a turnover.

Willette, who led the Indians with 12 points, allowed them to reach their high-water mark twice, an 18-point bulge. Her baseline shot made it 24-6, then her 3-pointer pushed the advantage to 29-11 midway through the third quarter.

But Harlan (20-3) wasn't going to stay silent all game. Trailing by 13 points entering the final quarter, the Cyclones opened the period with seven straight points, then carved the deficit to four on three occasions, the last time at 40-36 on Frederick's spin move with 1:35 to go.

Willette responded with a basket, Rice hit three of four free throws and Mia Laube added one of two to complete the triumph.

Rice added 10 points, Knapp scored nine. The Indians prevailed despite shooting 28 percent from the floor.

'I can't lie; I was nervous,' Coach Laube said. 'But I don't think our girls panicked too much. They played with composure.'

Frederick and Jordyn Moser scored 13 points apiece for Harlan. Moser snared 14 rebounds.

The Indians matched their 2008 predecessors by reaching the semifinals. One more win, and this team makes school history.

Two more ...

'We're just here to take one at a time,' Mia Laube said. 'But we think this is our year.'

MARION 46, HARLAN 38 (Class 4A State Quarterfinal)

At Des Moines

MARION (46): Chloe Rice 1-8 8-10 10, Caitlyn Smith 1-7 0-0 3, Randi Wright 0-0 3-4 3, Mia Laube 1-5 1-2 3, Sophie Willette 5-10 0-0 12, Maddie Knapp 3-8 0-1 9, Elle Herold 1-4 0-0 3, Isabella Sade 1-2 0-0 2, Tessa Jordan 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 13-46 12-17 46.

HARLAN (38): Allison Bruck 1-5 0-1 2, Clare Klein 0-1 2-2 2, Jordyn Moser 4-15 3-4 13, Taylor Frederick 5-13 2-7 13, Emma Ahrenholtz 2-5 0-0 5, Emily Juhl 0-0 0-0 0, Bailey Hansen 1-2 0-0 3, Lexi Hoffmann 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-41 7-14 38.

Halftime: Marion 20, Harlan 6. 3-point goals: Marion 8-26 (Rice 0-2, Smith 1-6, Laube 1-2, Willette 2-6, Knapp 3-8, Herold 1-2), Harlan 5-14 (Bruck 0-2, Klein 0-1, Moser 2-6, Frederick 1-2, Ahrenholtz 1-1, Hansen 1-2). Team fouls: Marion 16, Harlan 15. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Marion 31 (Smith 6), Harlan 38 (Moser 14). Assists: Marion 10 (Laube 3), Harlan 7 (Hansen 3). Steals: Marion 12 (Rice 3), Harlan 6 (Bruck, Klein 2). Turnovers: Marion 9, Harlan 18.

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com