RACHEL, W.Va. — Not much went right for North Marion the first six minutes of the fourth quarter Friday against Fairmont Senior.
The Huskies saw their 10-point lead turn into a 49-46 deficit, and the Polar Bears had seemingly all the momentum in the Class AA Region I, Section 2 title game.
But with one shot, junior guard Karlie Denham changed the complexion of the contest. Denham’s three-pointer from the corner with 1:50 left tied it at 49 and ignited a 10-3 Huskies’ run to close the game in a 56-52 victory over the Polar Bears.
“Not thinking and just shooting the basketball,” Denham said. “I got it and I knew I was open. I wasn’t really thinking about the score. I just knew we needed points.”
After Denham’s triple pulled North Marion (23-1) even, Fairmont Senior (19-5) had a chance to regain the lead, but Morgan Lilley missed two free throws with 1:29 remaining.
Denham then gave the Huskies the lead for good with two free throws, and Taylor Buonamici doubled the advantage by sinking a pair from the charity stripe with 25 seconds remaining following a Polar Bears’ turnover.
Denham added two free throws to up the lead to six with 14 seconds, and although Laynie Beresford answered with a triple, Denham made 1-of-2 at the line with 1.5 seconds to play to preserve the win.
“We just had to settle down, relax and not force things,” Huskies’ head coach Michael Parrish said. “We took a couple bad shots down the stretch, but in a game like this that’s going to happen and we were lucky to prevail. We made some big free throws to pull it out.”
The Huskies were largely in control throughout their third victory in as many matchups with Fairmont Senior this season.
Although the Polar Bears began the second quarter on a 6-0 run and tied the game at 15 after consecutive buckets from Emily Starn, Denham responded with two threes to put NMHS on top by six.
It was also the start of a 13-3 North Marion run to end the half, one that featured a triple from the Huskies’ Olivia Toland as well.
“Defensively, we did a great job in the first half and held them to 18 points,” Parrish said. “We kept them out of the paint.”
The Huskies led by at least six throughout the third quarter and outscored the Polar Bears 8-4 over the final half of the period for a 42-32 advantage. Buonamici had eight points in the quarter to help her team maintain its double digit lead.
But North Marion, which had 13 second-half turnovers, immediately saw its lead cut to six following consecutive baskets from Marley Washenitz to start the fourth.
Washenitz added two more field goals moments later and Starn scored off a steal to tie the game at 44 with 5:36 left.
After the Huskies went back on top by two, Washenitz scored five straight points, before Denham responded with the critical trey.
“We kept our heads and we knew that we’d beaten them before and all we needed to do was play our game,” Denham said.
The win allows North Marion to stay home Thursday for a regional co-final against Petersburg. Fairmont Senior, meanwhile, will look to secure its spot in the state tournament when it plays at Frankfort.
Buonamici had 23 points and made all five of her foul shots, while Denham scored 20 points and was 9-of-11 on free throws. North Marion finished 18-of-24 at the line, while Fairmont Senior was 7-of-15.
North Marion’s Katlyn Casino was also vital in the victory, finishing with 12 rebounds and eight blocks.
Washenitz had 23 points and 12 boards, while Starn scored 11 points in the loss.