It is unclear how much Shunda Johnson and her Marion girls basketball team enjoy the classic rock band Bachman-Turner Overdrive. What is clear is that the 2023-2024 Lady Patriots subscribe to the theme of BTO's massive 1973 hit, “Taking care of business,” down to the last line of the hook where the group takes pride in “workin' overtime.” Marion authored another chapter in extra basketball on Tuesday night when the Lady Patriots erased deficits late in the fourth quarter and overtime to top 5A East rival Nettleton 56-52 inside Fidelity Bank Arena. It was Marion's second overtime conference contest in as many outings, but the Lady Pats came out on top of Nettleton after losing the league lid-lifter on January 5 to West Memphis. "We really needed to get this one tonight," said Marion coach Shunda Johnson. "It sure wasn't the prettiest game or the best game we've ever had, but it's not easy to win, and we showed some character tonight to come out on top." The Lady Patriots (9-6 overall, 1-1 5A East) got a team-high 16 points off the bench from junior guard Ayanna Hayes, nine points and five assists from senior all-state point guard Ny'Asia Jackson, and nine points from sophomore Jada Cheers to offset an uncharacteristic eight-of-16 showing from the free-throw line. Nettleton (14-4, 0-2) got a game-high 20 points and 11 rebounds from senior McKenzie Williams, 12 points and four assists from freshman guard Summer Morgan, and nine points from senior guard Carmen McShan. Indeed, Marion's character was put to the test, trailing 34-32 entering the fourth quarter, and the Lady Raiders took a 43-37 lead on a Williams layup with 4:18 remaining in regulation. That's when Marion upped the defensive intensity, forcing five turnovers from that point on to work its way back into the contest. A Jackson layup gave the Lady Pats within 43-39, and Hayes took off on a personal 6-0 run that gave Marion a 45-44 lead following her layup with 1:49 left in the fourth period. Nettleton took the lead right back on a layup from Ta'Kylah Marshall, but Jackson split a pair of free throws with 47.8 left in the fourth to tie the score at 46 and send the contest to overtime. Williams scored on a stickback for a 48-46 Nettleton lead with 3:45 left in the extra period, but two free throws by Jackson and one from Cheers pushed the Lady Pats back in front 49-48 with 2:22 left. McShan split a pair of charities with 2:01 left, and neither team could manage a point until Marion sophomore Madison Glaspie came up with a steal in the backcourt that she turned into a layup for a 51-49 lead with 39.4 seconds remaining. From there, Jackson split a pair of free throws and Hayes scored a layup for a 54-49 Marion lead with 44.6 seconds left. From there, McShan split a pair again, and when Donna Douglas scored in the paint with 3.3 seconds left, the Lady Raiders were within 54-52. Marion got the ball into Jackson, who calmly sank a pair of clutch charities to deliver victory to the hosts. "The free-throw shooting was really frustrating at times tonight, but you're going to have some off nights," said Johnson. "I was pleased with how we held up against their fast guards, and even though they were bigger than us, we held our own on the rebounds, and that's about effort more than anything." Nettleton started fast, leading by as much as 10-6 in the first period before settling for a 10-6 bulge entering the second stanza. The second quarter doubled as Hayes's coming-out party as the Marion junior scored eight points in the frame, and when Marion's Joniya Lewis hit a jumper just before the halftime buzzer, to tie the game at 19. Nettleton twice took four-point leads in the third period before settling for that 34-32 lead entering the fourth, setting the stage for the late-game situations. WHAT'S NEXT? Marion remains at home in this first run through 5A East play when Searcy comes calling on Friday night. The junior varsity boys game tips at 5 p.m., followed by the varsity girls contest, and then the varsity boys. The Marion-Searcy contests will be broadcast live on MarionPatriots.com and on the Marion Patriots Activities Network YouTube channel. 5A EAST RESULTS FROM 1/9 Marion 56, Nettleton 52 (overtime) Greene Co. Tech 57, Batesville 36 W. Memphis 44, Searcy 40 Valley View 64, Paragould 41 5A EAST STANDINGS ON 1/10 SCHOOL CONF. RECORD Greene Co. Tech 2-0 Valley View 2-0 W. Memphis 2-0 Marion 1-1 Searcy 1-1 Nettleton 0-2 Paragould 0-2 Batesville 0-2 5A EAST GAMES ON 1/12 Searcy at Marion Greene Co. Tech at Valley View Paragould at Batesville W. Memphis at Nettleton