The Thomas More Prep – Marian girls’ basketball team was denied a third-straight trip to the Class 3A State Tournament on Saturday night when they lost to Beloit 52-40.
The Lady Monarchs were the #1 seed in the Lyons Sub-State but the Lady Trojans earned their trip to Hutchinson by outscoring TMP 31-13 in the second half of the sub-state championship game.
Beloit, the #3 seed in the bracket, started the game with a 7-2 lead before TMP started to take control of the first half. With the help of 12 first half points from Rachel Jacobs, the Lady Monarchs took a 27-21 lead into halftime. Jacobs finished the night with 20 points and ended her career at TMP-Marian with 1,468 points (school record).
TMP’s second-leading scorer, Jenna Lang, battled with foul trouble for the second straight night. The Lady Monarchs struggled to keep afloat against Beloit (17-6) in the second half with her on the bench.
TMP held a two-point lead at the end of the third quarter but Beloit attacked inside at the beginning of the final period. Beloit went on to score the first 10 points of the fourth quarter to seize control of the game.
The Lady Trojans’ Olivia Marozas scored nine of her 19 points in the final eight minutes. TMP had no answer for Marozas and Cami Engelbert in the paint in the second half. Englebert ended the night going 7-for-7 from the free throw line and had 14 points.
Lang and Heather Ruder who both average 12.5 points per game were held in check on Saturday. Lang had seven points while Ruder added just six.
TMP’s 12-game winning streak comes to an end with the loss as does the prep careers for Jacobs, Lang, Allison Marsell, and Rebecca Pray.
Alan Billinger’s Post-game Interview
Billinger Postgame 3-3
Highlights