After having lost a blowout in their previous game against Cole, the Marion Bulldogs were happy to have found some success on Friday. They had just enough and edged Nixon-Smiley out 45-43. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory Marion has posted yet this season.
Marion was led to victory by Breelon Allen and Brianna Hunter. Allen dropped a double-double on 11 points and ten rebounds, while Hunter scored 14 points along with four steals. Allen hasn't dropped below eight rebounds for five straight games.
Despite the loss, Nixon-Smiley still got an impressive performance from Janaelyn White, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and ten steals. White has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last six times she's played. Another player making a difference was Kendall Amaya, who scored nine points along with two steals.
Even though they lost, Nixon-Smiley smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive rebounds. This was only their 15th loss (out of 21 games) when they hit their own glass that hard.
Marion's victory ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 6-18. As for Nixon-Smiley, they have been struggling recently, as they've lost nine of their last ten matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-21 record this season.
Marion will head out on the road to challenge Luling at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. As for Nixon-Smiley, they will look to defend their home court on Tuesday against Cole at 6:15 p.m. Cole presents a significant challenge as they come into the match much higher ranked than Nixon-Smiley in Texas (Cole is ranked 375th, while Nixon-Smiley is ranked 1229th).
