Madison Earns First Round District Win Over Marshall

Though the Marshall Statesmen (8-15, 4-9) led going into halftime of its Liberty District tournament game against Madison High School on Tuesday night, the Warhawks (15-7, 9-4) fought back, using the stellar defense of senior Anna Jay and the textbook offense of sophomore Megan LeDuc to pull out a 30-23 win.

The stands were only three-quarters full for the physical but low-scoring first round matchup at Madison High School, but Marshall fans reached ear-piercing decibels as their Statesmen took a two-point halftime lead going into the half.The Statesmen led 11-9 in one of the lowest scoring halves of the season.

LaBarbera said she and her teammates felt confident and hungry for the win during the first half.

“I think we came out with the intensity we needed but we just let up,” Marshall's Christine LaBarbera said. “We truly wanted it more, and that is what brought the hustle into our game.”

LaBarbera and Morgan Conover strutted back onto the court for Marshall with confidence after halftime. But Madison backed off its tight man defense in the final two quarters to keep its opponent out around the arc. Madison capitalized on Marshall's missed shots with excellent rebounding from Carmen Mann and Jay, who combined for 10 points and eight boards in the game.

Jay said she and her teammates got positive in the locker room during the half and thatthe defensive adjustment helped them regain composure.

“We fed off each other, and clapping it up at halftime helped,” she said. “We had played a more aggressive man in the first, but then let up and forced them to shoot outside and boxed out.”

Madison grabbed the lead early in the third and outscored the Statesmen 12-5 in the quarter. Megan Henshaw shot 3-for-5 for a game-high nine points (tied with LeDuc). She was fouled with 1.1 seconds left in the third and took the ensuing inbounds pass, draining a 19-footer at the buzzer that looked to be a 3-pointer. The referee signaled that her foot was on the line, however.

Down 21-16 going into the fourth, Marshall battled hard in the paint but could not find the same cracks in the Warhawk defense as they did in the first half. Madison led by as many as eight points throughout the quarter, as LeDuc plowed through the lane and layed it in for two of her game-high nine points with less than four minutes remaining. LaBarbera, who went 3-for-8 for 8 points, cut the lead to five when she hit a pair of free throws, but Henshaw answered back and knocked down a 3-pointer for the Warhawks just 20 seconds later.

Madison's Katie Kerrigan hit her only bucket from 10 feet with two minutes left, but made it count as she increased the Warhawk lead back to seven, where it would stay.

LeDuc said defense is the team's strength. She said the squad hopes to face Fairfax this week in the second round of playoffs. The Rebels beat Madison twice this year, but the Warhawks are hoping the third time is their charm.

“We said we had to pick it up and put pressure defense on them and go after loose balls. If we do well on defense, we do well on offense,” LeDuc said. “It is hard to beat a team three times, so we are going to come out as hard as we can and do what we can to win.”

Madison coach Kirsten Roberts said her team had a tough first half but bounced back. She agreed with LeDuc that Fairfax would be a tough opponent.

“They played a zone and we were getting the open shots but were not hitting them,” Roberts said. “We have won the district the past three years in a row, but we haven’t beat Fairfax yet so we have got a long road ahead of us.”

NOTE: Marshall’s Rachel Waldron did not play during Tuesday night’s game. Coach Klippenstein could not be reached for comment after the game.