Lady Raiders Split Final Two
By: Wm. Michael Dixon
Tribune Recorder Leader
The Marlette Lady Red Raiders took on Bad Axe at home last Tuesday for some non-conference basketball action. Marlette took an early 13-4 lead in the first quarter after locking down the Hatchet scoring charge. The Hatchets hit their stride in the second quarter, outpacing the Raiders 17-9 but still trailed Marlette by a point at halftime. The Hatchets outscored the Lady Raiders by four points in the third and one in the fourth to take the win 41-37. Adi Ruggles and Gabby Martinez led the scoring with twelve points a piece. Ruggles pulled down eight rebounds, six steals and dished out three assists. Martinez also pulled down eight rebounds with three steals, four assists and a block. Dalaney Gage had nine points and three steals. Emily Newland chipped in four points and three rebounds. Lily Lemanski played some lockdown defense, coming up with four steals and three rebounds. Alexandra Findlay and Hayley Hazen each came up with a steal in the loss.
The Lady Raiders hosted the Vassar Vulcans at home last Thursday for the final game of the regular season. Marlette controlled the pace of the game from tip off, running the score up to 19-3 in the first quarter. The Raiders pumped the brakes in the second quarter, only adding four to their total, but still held a twelve point lead at halftime. The Vulcans outscored the Raiders again in the third quarter but still trailed by ten points to start the fourth. Vassar’s hopes were dashed in the fourth when Marlette caught fire again, adding seventeen points to their total and holding Vassar to just six points for the final eight minutes of the game. Marlette took the win 44-23 and improved to 12-8 (8-4) on the season, with their eyes set squarely on the postseason. Marlette is hosting the District 127 tournament, playing their first game in the Semi-Final round Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. against the Mayville Wildcats (6-15). If Marlette finds their way past Mayville they have the unenviable task of taking on the presumptive winners of Wednesday’s early game, the Kingston Lady Cardinals (21-1). The Lady Cardinals have only dropped one game this season, against the Undefeated Division 2 Goodrich Martians, and have been perfect through the past twenty games.
