WEST MEMPHIS --- The absence of its leading scorer and rebounder, coupled with the presence of West Memphis' dynamic duo sank Marion Thursday night at Lehr Arena. With senior Daedrianna Cail watching from the bench, West Memphis juniors Janiyah Tucker and Clemisha Prackett did a number on the Lady Pats. The Lady Blue Devils (15-7 overall, 8-3 5A East) led by as many as 21 in the third quarter against Marion (18-8, 8-3) before holding on for a 52-45 victory. The West Memphis conquest pulls the Lady Blue Devils into a tie with Marion for the No. 2 spot in the 5A East standings. Since the teams split the regular season series, the next tiebreaker is margin of victory against the opposing team, which favors West Memphis. West Memphis wasted little time jumping Marion in front of the Lehr Arena faithful. The Lady Blue Devils claimed leads of 7-0 and 9-1 less than four minutes into the contest. That's when Jessica Robins went to work, scoring five quick points to get Marion within 10-6 before West Memphis earned a 13-6 advantage after the initial period. West Memphis took its first double-digit lead with 3:40 left in the first half when Tucker rattled home a jumper. Ny'Asia Jackson kept Marion close in the first half as she connected on a pair of three-pointers, the second of which got the Lady Pats within 22-13 with 2:02 before halftime, but Tucker scored the last four points of the second stanza to give West Memphis a 26-13 lead at the break. West Memphis pushed its lead to 20 points three times in the third quarter before the Lady Blue Devils settled for a 44-26 advantage after three frames. West Memphis claimed its largest lead (21 points) of the game with 4:21 left in the game when Marion hit the comeback trail. Taylor Little sparked a 15-1 Marion run in the fourth quarter by scoring seven points and the Lady Pats got within 50-43 with 46.1 seconds left in regulation. Defensively, Marion forced eight West Memphis turnovers in the fourth quarter, and allowed the hosts to make just one of six shots from the floor in the final frame. Robins paced Marion with 14 points, while Jackson hit for 10 and Little tallied nine. Prackett scored a game-high 22 points to pair with nine rebounds, while Tucker hit for 18 points for West Memphis. Marion beat West Memphis 46-41 on January 7, a margin of five points. West Memphis's seven-point victory on Thursday could prove the difference between the No. 2 and the No. 3 playoff seed should the schools finish tied in the league standings. Marion hosts Greene County Tech on Friday night with the girls game tipping at 6 p.m. The boys game will follow around 7:30, and each varsity game will be streamed live on MarionPatriots.com and on the Marion Patriots Activities Network mobile app.