Marion hands CPU its first loss

MARION — They withstood every run that Center Point-Urbana mustered.

Then, the Marion Indians survived a stampede of joy.

Class 4A No. 7 Marion built a 17-point lead, then held on to hand 3A No. 2 Center Point-Urbana its first loss of the season, 61-54, in a Wamac Conference West Division girls' basketball showdown Friday night at Marion High School.

'It's good to bring this kind of energy to Marion,' said sophomore Chloe Rice. 'It was a lot of fun. We were a lot tougher on defense, a lot tougher on offense than we were last time we played them.'

Friday's outcome forged a deadlock for the Wamac West lead. Both teams are 10-1 in the division with two games to go.

'First of all, (CPU) is a great team. There's a lot of respect there,' Marion Coach Corby Laube said. 'Like I told (CPU Coach Philip Klett) afterward, I hope they win the 3A (state) championship, because they've got a good enough team to do it.

'As for us, I knew we had a good team. Tonight shows we have potential at the state level.'

Not bad for a frighteningly young team. Three sophomores and two freshmen were in Marion's starting lineup.

After a back-and-forth first quarter, Marion (13-4 overall) took control with a 16-4 advantage in the second and took a 32-18 lead into intermission.

The margin grew to 37-20 on Mia Laube's three-point play with 6:41 left in the third quarter before the Stormin' Pointers (17-1) began to chip away.

Arika Wooldridge hit two free throws with 3:54 left in the game to cut the deficit to 48-42, but that was where the rally ended. Rice answered with a three-point play on the next possession to restore the advantage to nine, and the Indians scored their final 11 points from the free-throw line.

When it was over, the Marion student section raced to the floor.

'We had some opportunities,' Klett said. 'We just had too many uncharacteristic turnovers early in the game, and they hit some open shots. We left them wide open, and they're too good to leave open.'

Rice registered 19 points and nine rebounds, both game-highs. Mia Laube added 14 points and eight boards.

Arika Wooldridge paced CPU with 18 points, but shot just 2-of-12 from the floor. Allison Wooldridge tacked on 14 points and seven rebounds.

CPU shot 27.5 percent from the floor (14 of 51).

'We wanted to protect the paint the best we could,' Coach Laube said. 'The Wooldridge girls ... they're not just tall. They have an array of moves.'

MARION 61, CENTER POINT-URBANA 54

At Marion

CENTER POINT-URBANA (54): Allison Wooldridge 6-15 2-2 14, Payton Hasleiet 0-1 0-0 0, LaMia Sisk 1-4 2-4 4, Olivia Brecht 2-8 4-6 9, Arika Wooldridge 2-12 14-18 18, Sydney Boevers 1-5 2-2 5, Claire Holtz 1-1 0-0 2, Madison Willson 1-5 0-1 2, Raegan Dufoe 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-51 24-33 54.

MARION (61): Chloe Rice 5-12 9-11 19, Caitlyn Smith 2-6 2-4 8, Randi Wright 0-2 0-0 0, Mia Laube 3-7 7-11 14, Sophie Willette 2-5 0-0 5, Isabella Sade 3-3 2-4 8, Maddie Knapp 2-6 2-4 7, Elle Herold 0-1 0-0 0, Tessa Jordan 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 17-44 22-34 61.

Halftime: Marion 32, CPU 18. 3-point goals: CPU 2-11 (Al.Wooldridge 0-1, Brecht 1-4, Ar.Wooldridge 0-2, Boevers 1-3, Willson 0-1), Marion 5-18 (Rice 0-3, Smith 2-4, Wright 0-2, Laube 1-1, Willette 1-2, Knapp 1-4, Jordan 0-2). Team fouls: CPU 27, Marion 21. Fouled out: Hasleiet, Sisk. Rebounds: CPU 32 (Al.Wooldridge 7), Marion 38 (Rice 9). Assists: CPU 3 (Ar.Wooldridge 2), Marion 8 (Laube 3). Steals: CPU 8 (Willson 3), Marion 5 (Knapp 2). Turnovers: CPU 13, Marion 15.

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