Flyers claim solo MAC title

ROCKFORD - An 18-0 run by Marion Local in the second quarter put plenty of distance between them and Parkway as the Flyers sewed up the school's 10th Midwest Athletic Conference girls basketball title with a 69-45 win over the Panthers in Rockford on Thursday night.

Marion (20-2, 8-1) captured its first conference title since the 2011-12 season by overcoming a determined Parkway squad and its own early shooting struggles.

"It's a great accomplishment to win the MAC this year because the MAC is very tough," Flyers coach Treva Fortkamp said. "There's still a lot of tough teams we'll have to go through in tournament."

The night was also memorable for Marion senior Allie Thobe, who became the seventh Flyer to reach the 1,000-point mark in her career late in the game.

The first four minutes of the game featured four ties and a brief Panther lead at 4-2. The Flyers went to their strengths by either lobbing the ball inside to Emily Mescher or allowing Thobe to drive to the basket. The pair combined for all 20 first quarter Marion points as the Flyers led 20-13.

"They're very much improved," Fortkamp said of Parkway. "It seemed like every shot they threw up went in (Parkway was 6-of-11 from the field in the first quarter). They were shooting well."

Parkway scored the first bucket of the second quarter to cut the deficit to 20-15. Then Marion Local took total control, scoring 18 straight points before Kayla Walls snapped the Panther skid with under 30 seconds remaining in the half. Thobe personally outscored Parkway in the first half 20-17 and the Flyers led 40-17 at the break.

"The second quarter is what killed us," Parkway coach Chris Weirrick said. "That's been typical for us in how we've played this year. We'll play good for three quarters and seem to have a letdown in one. (Marion) turned up the defensive pressure in the second quarter and we didn't handle it very well."

For Thobe, all that remained was to reach 1,000 points. Needing 33 points entering the game to reach the mark, Thobe used her defensive prowess to create a couple of easy steals into layups. Thobe was in need of six points just 90 seconds into the second half but began to pass the ball around more as Fortkamp began to make substitutions.

Finally with just over seven minutes left in the fourth quarter, Thobe knocked down an open three-pointer. After converting a hoop-and-harm three-point play one possession later, Thobe took a seat the rest of the way.

"I'm glad Allie got it before tournament," said Fortkamp, who ranks third on the Flyers' scoring list. "She shot really well. I've been on her (back) the last few games to shoot the ball because she's very unselfish."

Even with the loss, Weirrick was pleased with how his team finished the game.

"Second half, I thought we played pretty well," Weirrick said. "It might not have looked like it because of the score."

Thobe finished the night with 36 points, the fourth-best single game scoring effort in school history, on 13-of-18 field goal shooting.

Mescher finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Lydia Heindel finished with 10 points for Parkway. Kayla Walls added nine points and Sarah Gehron finished with eight.

Marion has over a week's wait for their first Division IV tournament game. The Flyers will play the winner of Tuesday's game between St. Henry and Waynesfield-Goshen on Feb. 28 at Coldwater. Parkway opens the Division III tournament on Wednesday at Wapakoneta against Elmwood at 6:15 p.m.