Marion hopes to recapture magic, repeat as 2A champs

COLUMBIA — Even with one big game remaining, Marion girls coach Leon Sturkey thinks his team has already accomplished something more than it did last year.

“We sort of came out of nowhere last year,” Sturkey said. “Nobody expected us to win the state championship. This year has been completely different.”

As defending Class 2A state champs, the Swamp Foxes returned most of their same players for this season, and were always ranked either No. 1 or 2 in the basketball polls throughout the year.

“We were supposed to get back here,” Sturkey said. “We knew that every game, we were going to get everyone’s best shot.

“I think that put a tremendous amount of added pressure on the girls, but they never let it overwhelm them. They did what they were asked and they worked extremely hard to get back to this point.”

Now the Swamp Foxes can add another chapter to the history books by winning back-to-back titles.

They’ll get that chance today at 3 p.m. when they face Southside at Colonial Life Arena.

“It’s a blessing to be back,” junior standout Geneika Brantley said. “We all had this goal at the beginning of the year and now we just have play our game and execute one more time.”

Brantley, the Morning News Preseason Player of the Year, had another eye-popping year for the Swamp Foxes. Brantley is averaging 17.3 points, 11.7 rebounds and 4.3 blocks a game.

And much like last season, she’s combined with junior Candace Wright (14.3 ppg, 9.9 rpg) to give the Swamp Foxes a potent 1-2 punch. Wright emerged as a go-to player last season with the Swamp Foxes, and her free throws in the closing seconds of last year’s title game sealed the win for Marion.

“We kind of picked things up where we left off last year,” Wright said. “We have a lot of different players who can score, so we try to move the ball around a lot.

“Everyone just does their part, and everyone commits to playing good defense.”

Amber Timmons (10.6 ppg), Amira Timmons (8.3 ppg), eighth-grader Tyshanna Lester (7.3 ppg) and Jessica Grant (7.1 ppg) give the Swamp Foxes a balanced scoring attack and one that’s tough to slow down.

“We’ve really had a lot of players step up and contribute this year,” Sturkey said. “You don’t always see them at the top of the stat sheet, but everyone on our roster has had big moments for us, and I’ve been especially proud of they way they’ve played defense this year.”

Marion (25-2) lost early games to Class 3A lower state champion Myrtle Beach and Crestwood, but have rattled off 22 straight wins since.

They’ll face a Southside squad that Sturkey called “very athletic.” The Tigers (24-4) are led by juniors Jasmine Franklin and McKenzie Weston.

“They’re not the biggest team, but they have a lot of athletes,” Sturkey said. “They like to drive to the basket, and they like to go to the foul line. Their athleticism is something we will have to match, and we cannot allow them to get too many second-chance shots.

“Defensivley, they play a lot of man-to-man, so we have to make sure to take care of the basketball.”