Girls basketball: Turning point: Lady M's flip the switch at the right time

Just weeks into the 2012-13 season and already Marcus' girls basketball team has taken on some of the best Texas has to offer.

The Lady Marauders just haven't earned wins in all of them.

As a result, Marcus head coach Fred Jones believed last week's contests against Plano West (No. 3 in the state) and Cedar Hill (No. 22) were a critical point in the maturation process of his squad.

"It was big for us," Jones said. "We needed to get over that hump. It was about confidence. We were confident and demonstrated our ability to compete with some very good teams. We had to know we could win those games."

The Lady Marauders gained that confidence Tuesday when Morgan Easley scored the game-winning basket at the buzzer, propelling Marcus past the Lady Longhorns, 48-47.

"I told the girls this was our opportunity and our moment," Jones said. "There were no excuses and that was our motivation. Now we know we can do it and I think that changes a lot."

Easley scored the game-winning points of an inbound play, catching the ball on the baseline before making a fake and taking a dribble to get to the hoop for a clean and close look.

"The ball actually bounced around the rim a time or two and didn't fall through until right after the buzzer," Jones said. "Then everyone went crazy."

The play was possible as a result of a charge drawn by Sierra Bone with less than 4 seconds remaining with Cedar Hill leading by three and trying to run out the remainder of the clock.

"Their player kind of bowled through Sierra and they actually called it a flagrant," Jones said. "Sierra hit both free throws and we got the ball back down by one point."

While Easley had the big hoop and 10 points on the night, Alex Lapeyrolerie paced the Lady Marauders in scoring with 12. Bone had nine, while Jenna Davis chipped in five.

"Alex gave us a big spark," Jones said. "She was able to create in transition and had seven of our nine points in the third quarter. She was able to grab the rebound and bust out down the floor."

Jones was also pleased with Marcus' ability to slow down 6-foot-3 post and Texas A&M signee Jada Terry.

"Defense was the biggest difference," Jones said. "We held Jada to eight points. With her height, to hold her to single digits was very impressive. And we also only gave up five offensive rebounds as a team on the night. We thought going in that if we could rebound, we would have a good chance."

Davis led the team with five boards from the guard position, but Jones noted it was a team effort on the glass.

"We were able to rebound and score points in the paint," he said. "We weren't intimidated at all and attacked."

Marcus was coming off a 53-40 loss Nov. 20 against West, a game in which they trailed by just one point in the fourth quarter. The Lady Marauders also had a pair of key contributors dealing with illnesses.

"West is a very good team," Jones said. "I think their ability to change in and out of defenses gave us some problems. We were losing by one and they had a big play where they got a 3-pointer to go up four; we were kind of scrambling after that."

Vanessa Jones led the team with 15 points, while Easley had nine and Davis scored seven.

"That was one of our worst losses feeling-wise, knowing that we were right there," Jones said. "I told the girls, don't lose that feeling of peaking and not winning during Thanksgiving break.

"I give much credit to West, though. They know how to win close games and now we should be figuring that out, too, with all the close ones we have had. This was a turning point in our season. Everyone hits their stride at a different time. Last year, we hit it late. For this team, it had to be now."

Marcus looked to build on its big win when it competed Thursday-Saturday at the Bishop Lynch Knights of Columbus Tournament (results not available as of press time).

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