Thanks to a clutch play by leading scorer Destiny Brown late in the fourth quarter and a spirited effort in overtime, the East Marion Lady Eagles advanced to the second round of the Class 2A playoffs Monday night with a 47-35 win over visiting Lake High School.
East Marion (11-15) had closed the third quarter on a 7-0 run to go up 29-21, but Lake responded with a 9-0 run in the fourth quarter to go up 35-33 with 35 seconds remaining. Following a timeout, Destiny Brown was fouled on a 3-pointer with 20.5 seconds and made the first two free throws to tie the game before missing the third.
Azariyah Magee got the offensive rebound off the miss, but East Marion missed a shot as time expired, leading to overtime.
In the extra period, Destiny Brown started a 12-2 run to close the game with an and-1 layup, which was followed by a Lia Smith layup, a Dyani Weary layup and two free throws by Weary.
Head coach Calvin Brown said the first word that comes to mind when thinking about the ending is “growth.”
“Emotional growth and basketball experience growth — we’re still emotionally fragile at times — but there was a time that surrendering that lead would’ve been the end of us. That was very impressive to see,” he said. “I was extremely proud of them.”
Now the Lady Eagles turn their attention to Bay Springs (20-4), who beat Wesson 63-39 Monday to advance to the second round. East Marion will play the Lady Bulldogs Friday night at 6 on the road.
What jumps off the page about Bay Springs is their size with 12 players standing 5-foot-9 or taller, including five at 5-foot-11. In comparison, Smith is the only Lady Eagle who is 5-foot-9.
“That is something we’ll have to contend with. They’re really big across the front line,” Brown said. “And they’re winning. The confidence and body language you have when you’re winning and expect to win is a big deal. We have to go in there on a mission.”
The Lady Eagles are well aware of the tradition at Bay Springs, which includes Murriel Page, who spent 10 productive years in the WNBA.
“They won’t catch us by surprise, and we definitely won’t be underestimating them. We’re looking at it as an opportunity for us to take the next step and get back in that statewide hunt,” Brown said.
Brown said the Lady Eagles actually bailed him out Monday against Lake because when they got the lead he said they should’ve subbed in some young, fresh legs and played man-to-man with Smith and Magee having four fouls apiece, but he left them in and they weren’t as aggressive.
“Looking back at it, that would’ve been the chance to go young and take that gamble because we surrendered the lead anyway,” he said.
The Lady Eagles played in the Region 8-2A tournament championship Friday after beating St. Patrick 41-28 Feb. 13 but lost to North Forrest 64-44.
Destiny Brown led the way with 27 points, while Smith added 12 points.
Destiny Brown, Smith and Magee were all named to the all-district team, and Magee was named defensive player of the year in Region 8-2A.
Pictured Above: East Marion star point guard Destiny Brown draws a foul to send the game to overtime Monday. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
