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MORAN — The Marmaton Valley and Crest High boys and girls split a pair of Three Rivers League basketball matchups Tuesday night in Moran.
Marmaton Valley’s Janae Granere hit a go-ahead shot with less than a minute left in regulation to help her Lady Wildcats take down Crest in the opener, 30-28. The Crest boys also dominated offensively in a 57-31 rout of Marmaton Valley.
Girls Basketball
If a game were going to come down to a final shot in the last minute, Marmaton Valley High girls basketball coach Becky Carlson knew who she wanted to have the ball.
That is, of course, junior Janae Granere, who has been one of the Lady Wildcats’ most consistent scoring options this season. Granere finished with eight points, alongside senior Tayven Sutton who also scored eight points.
“If they’re in a straight up man, which they were, we wanted to get it in her (Granere) hands and we kind of cleared out for her,” said Carlson. “We had some good shots. Not all of them fell, but we took some great shots.”
Marmaton Valley’s defense held strong in the opening quarter, keeping Crest to just two points, a McKenna Hammond layup.
Payton Scharff, Granere and Sutton put the Lady Wildcats on the board when each went underneath for layups in the opening quarter. Braelyn Sutton joined her older sister at the basket in the second quarter when the siblings each banked in a pair of layups.
The Lady Lancers bounced back before halftime when Haylee Beckmon notched a pair of two-point baskets and a layup while Karlee Boots rolled in a layup as well as a free throw to help Crest shrink their halftime deficit to 15-14.
The game remained neck-and-neck, with the score tied 22-22 by the end of the third quarter. Marmaton Valley’s efforts mainly came off the fingers of Granere on a layup while Crest countered with a trio of Kayla Hermreck layups following halftime.
“I think moving the ball around and playing good man helped most,” Carlson said. “I thought we could have taken more shots. When the game is that close, we’re just happy to get the win. They’re hard workers and they’re willing to win. I think you saw it tonight, they really fought.”
The fourth quarter was a battle. Each team clawed for points and extra possessions on both ends of the floor. Crest wouldn’t go down quietly. Haylee Beckmon scored on a layup with about a minute left in the game, tying the score at 28-28.
Marmaton Valley’s Granere laid in a pair of two’s, including her game-winning jump shot and T. Sutton posted a layup to lead Marmaton Valley to a two-point victory in the end.
Scharff led Marmaton Valley with nine points, followed by Granere and T. Sutton’s eight points apiece. Crest was led by Beckmon’s nine points and Hermreck’s six.
Marmaton Valley (11-8-14—30) (FG/3pt-FT-F—TP): Scharff 1-7-3-9, Lawson 0-0-2-0, Barney 0-1-2-1, T. Sutton 4-0-3-8, B. Sutton 2-0-2-4, Granere 4-0-2-8.
Crest (9-10-14—28) (FG/3pt-FT-F—TP): Beckmon 1-2-2-4, Coleman 0-0-1-0, Beckman 2-5-5-9, Hermreck 3-0-0-6, Boots 1-2-1-4, Hammond 2-0-0-4, Allen 0-0-4-0, Edgerton 0-1-1-1.
