Port Aransas High School Lady Marlins player Kelsey Ortiz hustles the ball past a Pettus defender during a Jan. 21 game. COURTESY PHOTO BY CHRISTIE ORTIZ A week of practice paid off on Friday, Jan. 21, when the Lady Marlins went to Pettus and returned home in solid second place in District 31-A.

Tied with the Lady Eagles for third going into the game, the Port Aransas girls knew they needed the win.

“I thought we handled the pressure well, and it gave some quick scoring opportunities,” coach Stephanie Cowen summarized.

Cowen noted the Pettus quickness, and said the Lady Marlins need to continue to work on their transition defense for the remainder of the season,

“ Chelsea Perez and Tarryn Murray came up big, and Savannah Ortiz continues to improve with each game,” she said.

An injury to Kalani Balcom kept her out of the game and left the Lady Marlins short-handed at Pettus.

“Kelsey Ortiz and Savanna Nixon stepped up and made some great decisions while handling the basketball, however,” Cowen said.

Murray led the Lady Marlins scoring with 16, followed by Ortiz and Perez with 14 each – a total of 44 points for those three players. Ortiz followed with nine, Nixon had three and Anna Roberson put in two.

The win brings the varsity to 16-10 for the season and 2-2 in district. There was no junior varsity game at Pettus because of the JV tournament scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 22, in Port Aransas.