Malloy leads top-ranked Trojans in 57-53 win over No. 8 Winner at Parkston Classic

PARKSTON — Marie Malloy is quick. Just ask the Winner girls’ basketball team.

The sophomore guard had two crucial steals Tuesday, leading to back-to-back scores and a one-point lead with less than a minute to play.

Malloy had one more steal with about 30 seconds left that kept Winner from retaking the lead, helping the Trojans defeat the Warriors 57-53 at the Parkston Classic in Parkston.

“She’s a great defensive player,” Parkston coach Rob Van Laecken said of Malloy. “She’s just so quick, and I think anybody that she guards has to get real tired of it.”

Going into the fourth quarter, Winner had a 10-point lead.

The Trojans slowly chipped away with fast break points and strong shooting from the field.

Down by five, Parkston’s Malloy had a midcourt steal and broke away for a lay up. After Winner’s Kirby Bertram missed two free throws and Parkston failed to score on its possession, Malloy had her first of two steals in a row to put the Trojans up 54-53.

“There was a stretch in the second half that we could have just quit,” Van Laecken said. “I think our pressure kind of got them tired in the fourth quarter, but there’s no quit in our girls. They all played hard.”

Winner had plenty of chances to tie or take the lead after that, though.

After Trojans’ guard Logan Wagner knocked down the front end of a pair of free throws, giving Parkston a two-point lead, Winner turned the ball over after grabbing the rebound.

Then, when Malloy missed two free throws, the Warriors lost control of the ball during transition with about three seconds remaining.

“That’s why they’re the No. 1 team in the state,” Winner coach Derris Buus said. “We made some mistakes, but we’ll be OK. The girls played hard, and you build off that.”

Winner led through almost the entire game until the final minute.

Two late scores each by Amanda Husher and Kory Novotny gave the Warriors a 15-13 first-quarter lead, and four unanswered buckets before the half gave Winner a 28-24 lead.

A long jumper by Renee Whetham with three minutes remaining in the third pulled the Warriors’ lead to eight, and the game looked to be almost sealed with Sharee Galbraith’s three-point play with 2:13 left in the game, giving her team a seven-point lead.

But in came Malloy and Parkston’s defense.

“The one thing Parkston does so well is their defense gets after you,” Buus said. “You make one little mistake and it’s going to cost you. We kind of forced the ball, and now we can learn from this game.”

The Trojans briefly took a lead in the second quarter.

Alison Fergen knocked down a free throw to break a 17-all tie, and Malloy had back-to-back steals for layups with about five minutes before the half to put the score at 22-18.

Besides leading the game with seven steals, Malloy had a team-high 19 points and seven rebounds. Wagner was the only other Trojan scorer in double digits with 11.

Parkston (4-0) shot 20-of-49 from the field and hit 15-of-24 from the line.

For the Warriors, Galbraith had a game-high 21 points. She and teammate Jordan Harter each had 10 rebounds. Whetham added nine points and Husher had seven.

Parkston’s next game is Monday when the Trojans host Stickney/Mount Vernon. Winner is now 2-1 and hosts the Snowball Classic Saturday.

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