MISHAWAKA — Plymouth’s Lady Pilgrims traveled north to Mishawaka to take on the Marion Knights for the first time in Marion’s gym in Coach Dave Duncan’s tenure. It was not a pleasant trip as Plymouth took a 57-44 loss.
Last year, the Pilgrims ended up on top of the Lady Knights by 20 at Plymouth and they were hoping for the same outcome Tuesday night. The Lady Pilgrims would have a problem from the outset having to overcome the loss of their main presence in the paint – CeCe Robinson – who fell to injury in Plymouth’s win over New Prairie.
Marian’s dominance on the boards would contribute to the Lady Knights’ win.
Marion drew first blood and went ahead early. Plymouth would battle hard getting back to within one on more than one occasion however, they could just not overcome the deficit.
Alli Andrews had her best game of the season to date by tallying 19 points and sophomore guard Claire Tanner also had double digits with 12. Plymouth was able to bury three pointers in the first half as 18 of the 21 points came by way of the three including Andrews with three and Tanner with two.
Marion allowed Plymouth to penetrate the arc in the second half opening Halle Reichard for chances beyond the three-point line, but the point gap wouldn’t get any closer than one. Marion leaned on a stellar performance from the foul line where it scored 17 of 20 times to help keep its advantage over Plymouth.
With the final minutes winding down, Marion would take control offensively and take time off the clock, but not before increasing its advantage to the largest of the night at 13.
With just under a minute remaining, Coach Duncan made a mass substitution with players getting time on the floor in a varsity-only evening as Marion has only 11 rostered players in its program this season.
Plymouth falls to 1-2 on the season and looks for a win Saturday on the road at Michigan City. The Lady Pilgrims will finally come home to make their first appearance at Plymouth Thursday against county rival Triton.
