Marathon’s second half rally pushes them past Laurens Central in first round of sectionals (Photos & Videos Included)

A special thank you goes to Visions Federal Credit Union for partnering with us to provide the greater Cortland County community with additional sports coverage

Section IV Class D first round of playoffs: Marathon vs. Lauren Central. (Photo provided by Timothy A. Bennett, Owner & Publisher of The Cortland Voice).

The 6th-seeded Marathon Lady Olympians defeated 10th-seeded Laurens Central in the first round of the Section IV Class D playoff tournament. 

Marathon defeated Laurens Central after a major second half comeback with a final score of 43-42.

“Our first half was just not it,” said Marathon junior Abby Ensign. “We could not get shots to fall and we had too many turnovers. I think that we were anxious throughout the game, especially against a new team.”

This was Marathon’s first game of the season against Laurens Central.   

After a struggling first half, Marathon was down 15-20. 

Following halftime, Marathon slowly kept getting back into the game. 

“We had to lock in, because we shouldn’t have been losing,” said Marathon junior Anna Hoyt. “We were playing really bad, and had so many turnovers. We all just knew that it was time to go. We were not ending our season like this.”

The Lady Olympians then had an explosive fourth quarter, where they outscored Laurens Central 15-7. 

It all came down to the last few seconds of the game, where Catherine Newkirk made a free throw to give Marathon a one point lead. Marathon then made a defensive stop that would ultimately win them the game.

Here is a score breakdown of the game:

Team1st2nd3rd4thFinal
Marathon411131543
Laurens Central81215742

 

Throughout the game, Marathon was led by Abby Ensign (14 points), Addison Oram (12 points), and Anna Hoyt (10 points). 

Laurens Central was led by Gabby Andrades (23 points) and Kyrah Andrades (7 points).

“I am feeling lucky,” said Marathon head coach Elizabeth Duncan. “A lot of things had to go our way in certain situations. I knew that it would be tough for us to start at home, because we’re road dogs. We’re not good at home. They get all worked up about the crowd, even though I love it. It’s great for them to feed off the crowd, band, etc.”

“It really came down to our second half defense,” added coach Duncan. “We locked in and figured some things out. In that fourth quarter, we held them to seven points and we had fifteen which was the difference maker.”

With this win, Marathon will now look forward to playing in the sectional quarterfinals against Southern Cayuga. 

According to Section IV, Marathon’s quarterfinal game will be played at Southern Cayuga High School this Saturday (February 25th) at 6pm. 

Here are photos from last night’s game (photos provided by Timothy A. Bennett, Owner & Publisher of The Cortland Voice):

Here is a video of the last few plays from last night’s game (original videos provided by Timothy A. Bennett, Owner & Publisher of The Cortland Voice):

A special thank you goes to Visions Federal Credit Union for partnering with us to provide the greater Cortland County community with additional sports coverage