PARAGOULD --- Playing a make-up game away from home in the second game of a back-to-back against your conference's current front-runner is far from the most opportunistic of situations. But the Marion Lady Patriots almost made it one. Playing old rival Greene County Tech, which was ranked No. 20 in this week's ScoreBookLive.com Top 25 rankings, inside Eagle Arena 24 hours after dispatching Paragould, No. 18 Marion allowed the hosts to score the game's first 11 points, but twice trimmed the Lady Eagle deficit to one point in the fourth quarter before falling 46-45. Greene County Tech improved to 17-5 overall and 5-0 in the 5A East behind Sophia Gonzalez's game-high 17 points, while Weslyn Burnside finished with 14 points, and Myiah Butler hit for nine points and 10 rebounds. Marion fell to 10-7 and 2-3 despite getting 11 points apiece from Madison Glaspie and Jada Cheers, while Ny'Asia Jackson finished play with five assists. The Lady Eagles made their first three shots of the night, including layups from Butler and Jacey Edrington, and a runner from Burnside to fashion a 6-0 lead. Marion committed three turnovers during the opening Tech run, and when Gonzalez scored on a runner and hit a three-pointer, the hosts led 11-0 with 4:38 left in the opening quarter. The Lady Pats made a bid to get back into the game starting late in the first period when Cheers and Jackson scored in the paint, and when Joniya Lewis hit a layup late in the quarter, the visitors had gotten within 15-7 after a quarter. Tech scored the first seven points of the second quarter on a Butler layup, a runner by Burnside, and a three-pointer from Gonzalez for a 22-7 advantage. A Jackson three-pointer led to four straight Cheers points, and another Lewis layup got Marion within 24-16 as the teams headed to halftime. Tech led 33-23 late in the third period when Marion embarked on a 9-0 run as Jackson scored five straight followed by a Glaspie runner, and when Jalee Meeks converted a layup, the Lady Eagle lead was just 33-32 with 1:59 left in the third, and Tech carried a 38-34 advantage to the fourth period. Three times in the final period, Burnside answered a Marion basket with a hoop or free throws of her own, and Marion had a chance to tie the game at 45 with 27.2 seconds, but Glaspie missed a contested layup, which led to Gonzalez splitting a pair of free throws, and Lewis capped the scoring when she stuck in a missed three-pointer with .9 seconds remaining. WHAT'S NEXT? Marion continues 5A East play on Friday night when it travels to Valley View. The junior varsity girls game will tip off at 5 p.m., followed by the varsity girls contest around 6:00, and the varsity boys game will begin at approximately 7:30. The Valley View games will be broadcast live on MarionPatriots.com and on the Marion Patriots Activities Network YouTube channel. RANKINGS RUNDOWN Marion remained at No. 18 in this week's ScoreBookLive.com Top 25 rankings. 5A EAST RESULTS FROM 1/24 Greene Co. Tech 46, Marion 45 W. Memphis 69, Paragould 42 5A EAST STANDINGS ON 1/25 SCHOOL CONF. RECORD Greene Co. Tech 5-0 Searcy 4-1 Nettleton 3-2 W. Memphis 3-2 Marion 2-3 Valley View 2-3 Batesville 1-4 Paragould 0-5 Top four teams make state playoffs in Searcy 5A EAST GAMES ON FRIDAY, 1/26 Marion at Valley View Searcy at Nettleton Paragould at Greene Co. Tech W. Memphis at Batesville