Storm swarms Lady Owls

ST. JOSEPH -- The relentless defensive pressure exerted by Notre Dame de Sion of Kansas City proved too much for the Marshall girls' basketball team to handle Wednesday during a 56-43 loss in the MSHSAA Class 4 Sectional at St. Joseph.

That came as no surprise to Lady Owls head coach Tom Hayob.

"I was expecting them to pressure us like they did," he remarked. "I thought we could get it inside, and they did the one thing they could do to prevent it: pressure us on the perimeter."

It was a good thing for the Storm that they didn't allow easy access to the low post, because when the ball got in there, Marshall junior Jessica Harriman tore them up. However, her opportunities -- at least early in the game -- were limited by the Lady Owls' 10 turnovers in the first 10 minutes, more than double their typical rate. That allowed Sion to open an 18-7 lead.

"We've struggled with half-court pressure, but not so much with full court," Hayob said.

A stick-back by senior Courtney Henley ended a five-minute drought. Harriman posted up in the blocks and Henley sank two free throws, those two accounting for all 17 of Marshall's first-half points. Yet, the Lady Owls only trailed by six points at the break.

The spread remained the same when the third period ended. By this time, Marshall was becoming accustomed to the constant contact produced by the Storm's in-your-face defense and motion offense, which featured multiple screens -- usually well set, although there was likely more than the single illegal pick whistled.

"They wear you down," Hayob explained. "They don't stop moving."

Finally, Harriman had had enough of being climbed upon while rebounding, displaying uncharacteristic feistiness. She threw one Sion girl to the floor while being fouled, that player not returning, and swung a vicious elbow to get another off of her back -- a warning Sion mostly heeded the remainder of the game.

Yet, Harriman's eight points during the frame kept the Lady Owls in contention.

"We worked hard and battled," Hayob said. "We had chances and hung around."

But not for long once the fourth quarter began. Sophomore Courtney Cannon stole the ball and took it to the rack and sophomore Teresa Turner buried a three-pointer during the opening minute. Four Cannon free throws, the second following an offensive rebound, stretched the margin to 13 points with 3:26 left in the game.

"A turnover here, give them a second shot there, can make a difference," Hayob noted. "How many little things like that were there?"

Harriman converted a conventional three-point play to reduce the deficit to 10 with 2:27 remaining, but Cannon answered with a lay-up and Turner hit four straight from the charity stripe to seal the victory.

Notre Dame de Sion (20-8) was as balanced as advertised in its attack, three players scoring in double figures: Turner (12 points), freshman Alexandra Keane (11) and Cannon (10). The Storm will meet Platte County, which blew out Kansas City-Central later on the Civic Arena court, 72-38, in Saturday's quarterfinal round at Lee's Summit.

Harriman had a career-high 27 points and 12 rebounds, ensuring Marshall (16-9) will have an impact player when Henley -- who scored 11 points -- and the three other senior starters depart. That group has left its mark, claiming a share of the NCMC title a year ago and ending the Lady Owls' seven-year playoff drought.

"We've had our ups and downs, had to battle through a lot of adversity," Hayob said. "They had chances to pack it in, but they stuck with it.

"Winning a district championship is something you can't take away from them."