NORMAL — Carterville’s dream of a girls state basketball championship came to an end in the semifinals at Redbird Arena at the hands of perennial powerhouse, Chicago Marshall and legendary coach Dorothy Gaters.
The Lady Lions put up quite a fight, falling 63-54 to the two-time defending champs.
In a game of runs, Carterville led 11-10 after one. Marshall led by as many as eight in the second, but the Lady Lions closed within 22-21 by halftime. Again Marshall extended the lead to eight in the third, but again, the Lady Lions rallied to cut it to 39-38 after 3. After Carterville missed multiple opportunities to take the lead in the fourth, the Commandos took control with a 9-2 spurt, and the Lady Lions didn’t closer than five the rest of the way.
Carterville had no answer for Marshall’s 6-1 senior Kenosha Walker, who came off the bench to score 20 points, grab 11 rebounds, and block six shots.
Jeniah Thompson and Abbey Crain led Carterville with 15 points apiece. Thompson also added ten rebounds. Megan Barton added 14.
Carterville will now play Riverdale Saturday at 5:30 for third place. Marshall will go after a third straight title, taking on Pleasant Plains.