By Chuck Livingston Marion School District The Marion Lady Patriots have hit teams with some mesmerizing runs so far this season, but they may have topped their previous best Tuesday night against Batesville at Fidelity Bank Arena. Marion (14-5 overall, 4-0 5A East) won its eighth consecutive game by embarking on a 21-2 run spanning the first and second quarters. The Lady Pats pounded the Lady Pioneers by shooting 26 of 48 (54 percent) from the field for the game, including a sterling eight of 11 after halftime. "I was glad we played like this because we didn't have any film on them," said Marion coach Shunda Johnson, who's in her 10th season at the school. "We were able to get our posts some good looks, and we converted a lot of them." Marion finished fast, but it was Batesville bolting out to a 7-2 lead in the first quarter as the Lady Pats misfired on a handful of shots inside the painted area. The Marion run began in earnest when sophomore guard Ny'Asia Jackson scored six consecutive points to give the Lady Pats their first lead at 8-7 with 4:42 left in the first period. Six straight points later in the first by Keira Neal pushed the Lady Pat advantage to 18-9, and the hosts led 20-9 after the opening stanza. When Marion senior forward Daedrianna Cail scored four straight paint points early in the second quarter, the Lady Pats led 27-11 as Batesville burned a timeout. Following the stoppage, Marion scored 14 unanswered points to open up a 41-11 advantage late in the second quarter, and the Lady Pats led 44-12 at halftime when a Jackson three-pointer beat the buzzer. Marion limited Batesville to one of nine shooting in the second quarter, while forcing five turnovers. "We wanted to find their shooters and close out on them," added Johnson. "They got some looks in the first quarter, but we tightened up from there." Six straight Cail points to open the third quarter put the game out of reach. Cail scored a game-high 17 points, Jackson hit for 11 points and seven assists, and Neal added 10. "Keira gave us a spark tonight, we just need her to be a little more consistent," said Johnson. "We asked her tonight to be more aggressive on the offensive and defensive end." Marion plays Friday night at Greene County Tech, with the girls game tipping at 6 p.m. The game will be livestreamed on MarionPatriots.com and on the Marion Patriots Activities Network mobile app.