It would be only natural for those attending Friday night's Marion-Valley View game to have their attention split between the contest in front of their eyes and the crucial Nettleton-Searcy contest being played almost two hours to the west. Marion more than did its part, leading the Lady Blazers by as many as 31 points on Senior Night before settling for a 55-27 victory at Fidelity Bank Arena. Out west, Nettleton strung together the game's longest run for a 36-32 victory over second-place Searcy to catapult the Lady Raiders into the state tournament, while Marion will miss the dance for the first time since 2020. Marion finished its 2023-2024 season 16-9 overall and 9-5 in the 5A East for the third straight season. The Lady Patriots finished as conference runners-up each of the past two years before finishing in a tie for the fourth and final playoff spot this year. Marion senior guard Ny'Asia Jackson netted a game-high 16 points with four assists. Jada Cheers scored 11 points and Madison Glaspie added nine. Valley View finishes its season 11-17 overall and 3-11 in the 5A East despite getting 10 points from Annika Wilbanks and eight from Bella Seeman. Marion won despite getting out of the gates slowly. Valley View scored the first five points and led 7-2 following a short Seeman jump shot with 4:45 left in the first period. That's when Marion embarked on a 9-0 run, capped off by a Glaspie steal and layup for an 11-7 lead, and the hosts led 11-8 after a quarter. Marion scored the first 13 points of the second quarter to take control of the game, taking a 24-8 lead after a Cheers three-pointer, and Marion led 27-14 at halftime. The Lady Pats scored the first 16 points of the third period to pull away, and Marion took a 49-19 lead with 1:11 left in the third on a Jackson layup, and the hosts nursed a 52-21 lead entering the fourth period, which enacted the sportsmanship rule. SENIOR NIGHT It was the last Marion basketball game for three Marion Lady Patriots, including Jackson, Survanna Clay, and Kysia Montgomery. Jackson caps her brilliant varsity career as the school's first four-year letter-winner in at least the last 15 years, and the first four-year starter possibly ever. She topped 1,000 career points this season and led the team in assists and steals each of the past three years. Clay started the Valley View game, scored two points, and recorded a rebound and an assist while appearing in most of the games this year. Montgomery looked ready to contribute to this year's team before she suffered a knee injury over the summer, before school started, and was never able to suit up this season.