Marshall wins sectional with defense

Marshall received a stiffer than expected test from Trinity on Thursday, but in the end the Commandos used their defensive pressure to wear down the Blazers en route to a 64-47 victory in the Class 3A Trinity Sectional championship game.

The host Blazers (26-7) had a raucous crowd on its feet by taking a 16-15 lead on a layup by Amanda Macchione late in the first quarter, and later used a 8-0 run in the third quarter to tie the game at 37 following three free throws by Monica Albano.

But as they have done so often, Sarah Rodgers and Adrienne GodBold had the answer for Marshall, which allowed just four points in the fourth quarter.

“They came out aggressive, more aggressive than we thought they would,” Rodgers said. “They honestly surprised us. But Coach [Dorothy] Gaters is always saying that we should control the tempo of the game with our defense and we put it in our hearts that defense wins championships. We believe in that and we played good defense tonight in the second half.”

In addition to their tough play defensively, Rodgers and GodBold were also aggressive on the offensive end. Rodgers sank her last five shots and was 8-of-11 overall to finish with 20 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. GodBold added 19 points, 10 rebounds, five steals and three blocks as the Commandos outrebounded Trinity 39-24.

Tatiana Walker played a key role as well for Marshall, contributing six points and five boards. She hit the first of two free throws with 4:26 left in the third quarter to put the Commandos ahead to good, 38-37. When she missed the second, GodBold scored on a putback to trigger a 9-0 run.

Albano scored 14 of her 20 points in the third quarter for Trinity, but Marshall (23-7) still led 51-43 heading into the final period. Albano was held scoreless in the final period.

The Blazers played without freshman floor leader Divinity Brown, who tore the ACL in her left knee two days ago. The point guard was sorely missed.

“Divinity is a great player,” said Macchione, who had 15 points and 11 rebounds. “It would have been nice to have her control the tempo of the floor, but Caneka [Davis] did her best.”

“Our big kids played great, [but] our role players did not play well tonight,” Trinity coach Ed Stritzel said. “Being without Divinity hurt us so much, but I’m proud of these kids. After losing [Michigan State recruit] Lykendra [Johnson] from last year a lot of people thought Trinity would be down, but 26-7 is better than our record of last year.”

Terranika Reynolds had eight points and three steals and reserve Marion Thompson had four points and six rebounds for Marshall, which will face Johnsburg in the Loyola University Supersectional.