Last night, both Marathon varsity boys and girls basketball teams defeated Whitney Point. The boys played at home, while the girls played on the road.
Marathon varsity boys basketball vs. Whitney Point
Last night, the Marathon varsity boys basketball team defeated Whitney Point 55-37 at home, improving their record to 2-1.
The Marathon Olympians struggled at the beginning of the game, until they got some hot first quarter shooting from Nate Walker to break out into an 18-9 lead.
Braeden Morrison stepped up his defensive pressure, and Marathon was then able to extend their lead to 30-17 at halftime.
In the third quarter, Connor Holland connected on his first three 3-point attempts, as Marathon put the game out of reach. Holden Maslin played well for Whitney point and led the Eagles with 11 points.
It looked to be an outstanding team effort by the Olympians, being short handed without senior shooter Joe Hulbert. However, Braydin Drake (who was pulled up from the Junior Varsity squad) “did an outstanding job filling in”, stated Marathon Head Coach Jim Holland.
Connor Holland led the Olympians with 26 points (going 5 for 9 from the three point line) and added five boards and four assists. Nate Walker shot well and ended up with 22 points. Morrison also had 4 assists for Marathon.
“I really felt we played well against the zone,” said Coach Holland. “Holland (Connor) and Walker shot well from deep; and Tren Ensign and Gabe Teeter each grabbed 7 boards. We definitely need to finish shots better in the paint. We missed some chippies.”
Up next, Marathon will travel to take on Whitney Point once again on Thursday, February 18th at 5:30pm.
Marathon varsity girls basketball vs. Whitney Point
The Marathon varsity girls basketball team took a short ride last night to go 3-0 on the young season after defeating Whitney Point 58-40.
The Olympians entered the game shorthanded, without 6’0 senior captain Madison Clark and Whitney Point took advantage early attacking the paint. Whitney Point’s Jane Austenfield scored 12 points in the paint to start the first quarter on the way to a short lived lead that Marathon came back from with some sharp shooting from Freshman Abby Ensign. Ensign hit two big 3-pointers in the first quarter on the way to a 10 point night for the Olympians.
Marathon made some defensive changes in the second quarter, moving junior captain Brooke Tillotson to the middle of the zone; holding Austenfield to zero points in the second quarter.
Tillotson not only stepped up on defense that quarter, but she also started to heat up on offense with nine points in the quarter. She ended the half with 14 points. Freshman Anna Hoyt also found her shooting touch, finishing the first half with nine points. Marathon went into halftime with a 33-21 lead.
“It was great to see Abby and Anna hit those shots for us tonight,” said Marathon Head Coach Andrew Pierce. “They have been working hard and it paid off tonight.”
The second half started out with more of the same for Whitney Point, getting the ball inside the paint. Austenfield finished the game with 21 points, but the points didn’t come easy in the second half as Marathon senior forward Abby Layton got physical on defense.
With the team defense stepping up, it was time for Marathon’s offense to take over.
Tillotson went on to score a game high of 31 points.
“Brooke has the ability to take over a game on both ends of the court,” stated Coach Pierce. “Not only is she a constant scoring threat, but her defensive motor is non-stop.”
Marathon connected on a total of nine 3-pointers on the night. Senior Brooklin Drake and first year varsity player Kate Anderson each hit one shot from beyond the arc
Tillotson’s 31 point night has now moved her into 4th place on Marathon’s all-time scoring list with 1,115 career points, moving ahead of 2017 Graduate Cassidy Marsh’s 1093 career points.
Up next, Marathon (3-0) will be taking on Whitney Point at home on Thursday, February 18th at 5:30pm.
