Warriors get long-awaited win over West Branch

By Carol McIntire
Editor
Coach Nik Schweikert’s young team felt the sting of defeat Wednesday when they hosted the unbeaten Salem Quakers, 58-33 and rebounded for a 42-41 overtime road win against West Branch Saturday in their second overtime contest within a week. One week earlier the Warriors outlasted Alliance 76-69 in a game that took four overtime periods to decide the winner.
Carrollton got off to a fast start in a home game with Salem. The two teams were tied 12-12 after the first period, thanks to a dominating performance by Lauren Marmo. The senior scored eight of her team-high 11 points in the first quarter. She added a third 3-point shot in the second quarter as teammate Demi Leary sank two shots from beyond the arc to help the Warriors stay within 30-25 at intermission. Leary ended the game with six points.
Salem turned up the defensive pressure in the third period, forcing turnovers they turned into quick baskets. The visitors pulled away for a 46-29 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The winners held Carrollton to four points in each of the final two quarters.
“We played a really good first half,” Schweikert said. “Salem turned up the defensive intensity in the second half and we did not handle it well, which led to turnovers. The turnovers allowed them to continually attack. We did not respond well. Ultimately I have to do better at preparing the team to handle the intensity and pressure of a game like yesterday.”
Six Warriors put points on the board. Junior Hillari Baker sank three field goals and a foul shot for seven ponts. Shafer added a 3-pointer and Maleyna Havens and Kylie Ujcich added two points apiece. Kylee Hutton led Salem with 16 points as Kami Rohm added 11.

Marmo and Braelynn Roudebush shared rebounding honors with five each. As a team, the Warriors pulled down 20 rebounds, compared to 25 for the winners.
“We showed some promise yesterday, but we have lots of work to do to get to where we want to be. It’s my job to create the opportunities daily for the team to improve to get to where we want to be. I’m excited to put the work in to continue to help this team grow and I know the girls will continue to put in the work daily to be the best they can be,” the coach stated.
Junior varsity: Salem won 37-31.
West Branch
On the road Saturday at West Branch, the Warriors allowed the hosts to tie the game at the end of regulation 34-34 after leading 9-6 after one quarter, 13-9 at halftime and 22-20 heading into the fourth period. Trailing 41-39 in the final seconds of overtime, Marmo took a deep 3-point throw that swished through the net as time expired for the win.
“I will never forget this day,” Schweikert said. “Lauren told us at the beginning of the season one of her goals was to beat West Branch, because she has never beat them. Unfortunately, we put ourselves in a bad position several times to end regulation and West Branch was able to tie the game. We kept telling the girls to play until the final buzzer. I couldn’t be more proud of their resiliency to fight until the very end. Lauren hitting that game winning 3-pointer as time expired represents everything we want this program to be about, a team that every night fights until the end.”
Eight Warriors scored, led by Baker with 17 points, including four 3-pointers. Marmo added 10.
Leary dished out eight assists and Marmo grabbed 14 rebounds. West Branch led the battle for rebounds 52-36.
Junior varsity: West Branch won 25-19.
Alliance
It took the Lady Warriors four overtime periods to dispose of the Alliance Aviators Dec. 3.
Carrollton held slight leads after the first three periods, 14-13, 28-25 and 41-40 before the visitors tied the game 55-55 at the end of regulation. Each team scored 4, 3 and 3 points in the first three overtimes before the Warriors pulled away for the win.
Baker scored a game-high 24 points that included six 3-point shots. Leary added 13 points, Marmo 12, Davis and Havens eight, Haley Leslie five and Ujcich and Shafer, one. Six of Davis’ points came from beyond the 3-point arc.
Marmo dominated on the boards, grabbing 28 rebounds and was credited with seven assists.. Havens and Leary each tallied 10.
Junior Varsity: Carrollton won 42-22.