Marked Tree girls punch ticket into the finals

JONESBORO - The Marked Tree girls punched their ticket to the 1A-3 District Tournament final Saturday defeating Maynard 67-43 at the Ridgefield Christian School Gym in Jonesboro.

Journie Versie led the Lady Indians in scoring with 17 points. Zyonna Anderson ran the show from the point guard spot, scoring 14 points and finding open teammates on several possessions. Amya Nesbitt spaced the floor with 14 points and hit a trifecta of shots from deep. Leading the way scoring for Maynard was Olivia Compton who recorded 12 points. Ava Melton was right behind her with nine points and a pair of threes for the Lady Tigers.

Maynard gained the early advantage by marginally out-scoring Marked Tree 13-11 in the first quarter. Lunden Olmer and Reicken Rainwater hit shots from behind the arc, and Compton led the way with four points from the charity stripe in the first period.

Maynard pulled further ahead in the second quarter. They extended their lead to 24-17 lead with two minutes left in the half. But back came the Lady Indians as Anderson settled into a three-point shot, and Alyssa McGuire assisted an inside shot. Then Anderson, Marked Tree’s pure point guard, penetrated the paint before dishing it out to Alyssa McGuire who drained a three. Anderson found her again on the very next play in the other corner, and her perimeter shot beat the halftime buzzer. The 11-0 scoring outburst put the Lady Indians ahead 28-24 at halftime.

Marked Tree looked confident after the strong finish to the first half, and Anderson assisted Amya Nesbitt in the corner for three which forced an immediate Maynard timeout. Nesbitt posted seven points in the quarter to pace the Lady Indians offense. Meanwhile Marked Tree’s defense picked up their pressure, allowing only two field goals in the quarter. By the end of the third period, Maynard had fallen behind 48-30.

The Lady Indians kept their foot on the gas in the final frame. Versie and Nesbitt scored seven points each during the final period, while McGuire hit her third three-point shot as Marked Tree coasted through the fourth quarter and into district tournament final game.

Marked Tree coach Colten Frazier credited the potent offense to Anderson’s facilitating play at point guard. “She’s a floor general,” He said. “She creates so much offense for us. Without her on the floor, we’re still good, but with her on the floor, we’re a different team. She’s been like that since she was a kid. She’s a true ‘pass-first’ point guard.”