Entering Tuesday night's game against Batesville, the Marion Lady Patriots knew they would have to play as close to perfect basketball down the stretch to make a third straight semifinal run. With that in mind, Marion aced its first test. The Lady Pats dominated in mostly every facet of Tuesday night's 67-45 victory over Batesville at Fidelity Bank Arena. The Lady Patriots (9-13 overall, 6-5 5A East) trailed the Lady Pioneers (8-17, 1-10) for just 17 seconds, while the hosts forced 24 turnovers. Marion won the rebounding margin 37-27, and the Lady Pats stifled the Lady Pioneers into 17-of-49 shooting to pull away for the victory. The Marion victory coupled with Nettleton's loss at Paragould tied Marion and Nettleton for third place in the 5A East standings, with the Lady Pats holding the tiebreaker on the winning margin between the clubs. Nettleton downed Marion by three points in January, while Marion topped Nettleton by 20 last week. Avoiding the No. 4 playoff seed could prove crucial as the last qualifier from the 5A East would play top-ranked Greenwood (24-2 overall) in the state tournament's opening round. The No. 3 team from the East would play the 5A West runners-up, currently projected to be Siloam Springs (16-9 overall), or Russellville (21-6). Marion senior Alyse Holliman led the way with 17 points and 15 rebounds off the bench, while classmate Kiera Neal checked in with 11 points, five boards, and three assists. Brianna Dyson rounded out Marion's top scorers with nine. Abby Hurley paced Batesville with 14 points, while Camya Porter added 12, and Hadley Cunningham finished with nine. The teams split the first 10 points of the ballgame and Batesville took its only lead of the night on a Julia Berdeja layup gave the visitors a 7-6 bulge. That triggered a run of five straight Marion points as Jordan Johnson converted a three-point play, followed by a Dyson layup and Marion led 11-7 with 2:23 left in the first, and the hosts nursed a 13-10 bulge after a quarter. The Lady Pats busted Batesville to open the second, scoring the first eight points of that stanza, and when Taylor Little hit a short jumper, Marion had its first double-digit lead (21-10) with 5:38 left in the first half. Marion's run spanned the second stanza, as Holliman added six points in the final 2:30 of the first half and the Lady Pats took a 35-17 advantage to the halftime lockers. Hurley hit six points in the third period to keep Batesville within striking distance, but Marion took its largest lead of the night (50-31) when Neal and Holliman scored the final four points of the third quarter. Hurley and Porter scored the first seven points of the fourth period to get Batesville within 52-38, but Ny'Asia Jackson responded with a three, Johnson hit a free throw, and when Holliman scored on a stickback, Marion had its first 20-point lead at 58-38 and just 4:40 left in regulation. WHAT'S NEXT? Marion travels on Friday to Greene County Tech (18-9 overall, 5-6 5A East) in another big contest for seeding in the state tournament. Marion earned a 45-39 victory over Tech in January at home. The girls contest will tip at 6 p.m., followed by the boys game around 7:30. Both games will be broadcast live on MarionPatriots.com and on the Marion Patriots Activities Network mobile app. NO MPAN VALLEY VIEW BROADCAST Due to Valley View playing this basketball season in a smaller gym, there will be no MPAN broadcast 5A EAST RESULTS FROM FEBRUARY 14 Marion 67, Batesville 45 Paragould 50, Nettleton 14 W. Memphis 50, Valley View 46 Searcy 50, Greene Co. Tech 22 5A EAST STANDINGS AS OF FEBRUARY 15 SCHOOL CONF. RECORD (Top 4 make playoffs in Pine Bluff) W. Memphis 11-0* Paragould 8-2 Marion 6-5 Nettleton 6-5 Greene Co. Tech 5-6 Searcy 4-7 Valley View 3-9 Batesville 1-10 *clinched playoff spot