PARAGOULD--- The Marion girls basketball team went big-game hunting last Friday night and wound up one shot away from taking down the 5A East's biggest bully. The Lady Patriots trailed by as many as 16 points in the third quarter inside Eagle Arena, the site of this year's Class 5A state basketball tournament, but MHS did not quit. Instead, Marion worked within 36-29 by the end of the third quarter and trimmed the Tech advantage all the way down to a single point, with the basketball late in the fourth. The Lady Eagles (28-2 overall, 14-0 5A East) knocked a pass out of bounds before an errant inbounds pass traveled into the backcourt, giving Tech a dramatic 47-46 victory in the regular-season finale. Marion finishes the 2024-2025 regular season with an impressive 20-10 overall mark and a 10-4 record in 5A East play. The conference runner-up Lady Patriots open their 2025 state tournament run at 4 p.m. Thursday, March 6, at Eagle Arena against the Benton Panthers. You can watch the Marion girls state tournament game for free on the MPAN YouTube channel, at MarionPatriots.com, or on the MPAN mobile app. The Lady Pats got 12 points from Ayanna Hayes, while Summer Morgan added 11, and Madison Glaspie and Joniya Lewis scored 8 points apiece. Edrington and Bowdler hit first-quarter three-pointers as the hosts made half of their 10 field goals, and Greene Co. Tech led 11-9 after the first 8 minutes. Johnson poured in 5 more points in the second quarter as the Lady Eagles embarked on an 8-0 run to take their first double-digit lead, and Tech toted a 27-14 lead to halftime. Marion made its move in the third period as Lewis scored 6 points and recorded 5 rebounds in the frame alone, and the Lady Patriots forced the Lady Eagles into 8 turnovers as Marion trimmed the lead to 36-29 after three frames. The Marion run continued into the fourth quarter, but Tech kept Marion at bay by making 8 of 10 free throws in the final frame, offsetting a 2-of-10 shooting from the floor in the fourth. Marion got within a point late in the fourth quarter on a Glaspie layup, and after getting a defensive stop, the Lady Pats took over with 12 seconds left to set up the final sequence. WHAT'S NEXT? Marion plays Benton in the opening round of the Class 5A state basketball tournament at 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 6 at Greene County Tech's Eagle Arena. You can watch the game for free on the MPAN YouTube channel, at MarionPatriots.com, or on the MPAN mobile app. 5A EAST RESULTS FROM 2/28 Greene Co. Tech 47, Marion 46 Valley View 49, Valley View 35 W. Memphis 53, Paragould 31 Batesville 57, Searcy 52 FINAL 5A EAST GIRLS BASKETBALL STANDINGS Greene Co. Tech 14-0* Marion 10-4* Valley View 10-4* Nettleton 8-6* W. Memphis 7-7 Batesville 4-10 Searcy 3-11 Paragould 0-14 *qualified for state tournament