Gahanna Lincoln finishes off perfect conference season with 59-52 win over Grove City

GAHANNA, Ohio – Laila Marshall’s eyes welled up with tears moments after she helped Gahanna Lincoln defeat Grove City 59-52 in her team’s regular-season finale Friday at home.

The senior guard had to fight back tears of sadness as she realized that she had just competed in the final regular season game of her four-year varsity career.

And she also blinked back tears of joy, after racking up a game-high 22 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals to help the Lions capture their fourth consecutive league title with a 10-0 record in the Ohio Capital Conference-Ohio Division.

“I’m a little emotional right now because it’s been a long four years with this team and I’m sad that it’s coming to an end,” said Marshall, whose squad improved to 14-8 overall. “This was our senior night, so I’ve already shed a lot of tears, because I love all of my teammates.

“But I’m really glad that we got the win, because we’ve won the OCC all four years I’ve been here, and it really means a lot to us. As a senior, it feels good to do my part to help my team win another one.”

Senior guard Clarke Jackson also played a crucial role in Gahanna’s victory, as she had 16 points, 11 steals, nine rebounds and eight assists.

“Laila and Clarke have played varsity basketball since they were freshmen, and they knew they were going to need to step up for us to win tonight,” Gahanna coach Ron Bailey said. “There was a lot of pressure on them, but this was their time and they both came through for us.”

Marshall scored 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting from the floor in the first half alone, including a field goal with just one second left in the second quarter that pulled the Lions within 27-26 heading into halftime.

Jackson also went 6-for-6 at the free throw line and scored six points in the second quarter to help Gahanna rally from a six-point deficit.

“Marshall and Jackson were the difference in this game,” said Grove City coach Joel Taylor, whose squad dropped to 18-4 overall and finished second in the OCC-Ohio with an 8-2 league mark. “They are both really good players, who made a lot of big shots. Give Gahanna credit, because they’re hard to guard.

“(Junior post player) Thea Palmore had two fouls in the first quarter, and losing her presence inside so early really hurt us, too.”

The game featured four ties and 12 lead changes, including five lead changes and two ties in the third quarter alone.

Senior forward Emily Marzetz made a 3-pointer with 33.4 seconds remaining in the third quarter to help Gahanna carry a 42-38 advantage into the final eight minutes of the game.

Gahanna freshman guard Haedyn Hull made a 3-pointer in the opening minute of the fourth quarter to make it 45-38, and sophomore forward Payton Bethea followed by scoring all seven of her points in a three-minute burst, including a 3-pointer that put the Lions up 52-45 with less than two minutes remaining.

“Peyton’s a great energy player and our entire bench did a great job,” Jackson said. “We caused a lot of havoc with our defense and had lots of steals in the third quarter to get us started.”

Marshall then made a layup and drew a charge, before Jackson scored four consecutive points to make it 58-49 with 29.7 seconds remaining to ice the game.

The Lions forced six turnovers in the second half, while turning it over only twice themselves.

Rounding out Gahanna’s scoring were Marzetz (6 points), Hull (5) and LeShae Berry (3).

“We secured the ball in the third quarter and that was big for us,” Bailey said. “We tried to trap Grove City a little bit, but after they made some threes in the second quarter, it forced us to come out of it and play man, and we did well with our man defense.

“But hats off to Grove City, because they play tough defense and always give us a battle.”

Scoring for Grove City were Kayla Jones (12), Addy Hansen (10), Gianna Boyce (9), Palmore (8), Leah Boswell (4), Nora Chesshir (3), Carly Turner (3) and Cayden Wagner (3).

Wagner made a 3-pointer to put the Greyhounds ahead 27-21 with 1 minute, 42 seconds left in the second quarter, for their biggest lead of the game.

“We fought hard and were in it the whole way,” Taylor said. “Our players played their tails off and we had balanced scoring. Our point guard and leading scorer, (Olivia) Keeney, couldn’t play tonight, but Gahanna was missing (junior guard) Aaliyah Younger, so no excuses. I’m proud of the way we fought and the year we’ve had.”