It has been 15 years since the East Marion Lady Eagles (18-8) reached the “elite eight” and now the Lady Eagles are back at it after beating Stringer 55-28 Friday night at home.
They are heading to Jackson State Thursday to take on Biggersville (10-16) at 5:30 p.m. with the right to advance to the Final Four on the line. The last time the Lady Eagles made it this far was a three-year stretch from 2001-03, which included back-to-back finals appearances and a semifinals appearance.
“I think it’s a very winnable game,” head coach Calvin Brown said. “I think our depth — maybe not to the degree it was against Stringer — will definitely be an advantage. What I really like about the girls going forward is we’re still improving. Every night we can be a little bit better than the previous night. We’re still improving in all areas. The longer we hang around the more dangerous we are.”
Brown said it’s always a concern when a team is playing on the big stage for the first time, especially when it includes playing in an open arena with no background behind the basket, but the Lady Eagles offense is geared more toward interior scoring anyway.
“We’ve got to handle the (bright lights). I’ve seen teams that never adjust,” he said. “But for us perimeter shooting isn’t a big part of our diet, so that may work to our advantage.”
The way the bracket sets up for East Marion could turn into an advantage if it advances to the semifinals. The Lady Eagles would match up with either Pine Grove or Durant, who play each other right before East Marion takes the court, allowing players and coaches to scout their next opponent in person.
“We’ll get to see Pine Grove and Durant before we play. Pine Grove is the defending champs and odds-on favorite this year, and Durant is also one of the top teams,” Brown said.
To reach the quarterfinals the Lady Eagles had to endure a tough first half, scoring just two points in the first quarter, and entered the second half with a slim lead over the Lady Red Devils. Stringer played the Lady Eagles extremely physical in the first half, but East Marion’s depth led to a dominant second half performance.
“At halftime I reminded Azariyah (Magee), Destiny (Brown) and Lia (Smith) that we felt like our eight (rotation players) were going to outlast their five. Over four quarters that turned out to be the case,” Brown said. “They were concerned about the shots they were missing or playmaking, but I told them if they continued to play aggressive and like they belonged out there, then they would take enough out of them for our first five to gradually take control of the game. We were fortunate it played out this way.”
East Marion put up 24 points in the third quarter alone to seize control of the game and added 17 more in the fourth to extend the margin. RaQquiya Haynes and Tytianna Porter led the Lady Eagles with 14 points each, while Magee and Amber Willis each had eight.
Pictured Above: East Marion’s Dontajha Stepney begins to make a move to sidestep a Stringer defender on her way to the rim Friday. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
