The Mariners enduring a brutal and bruising game against Merritt College on Friday. After 40 hard minutes of play, Marin was unfortunately on the short side of a 67-62 score line. A pair of runs to start the first and third quarters built a deficit that was too much to rebound from.
The visitors opened the game on a 10-0 run. The Thunderbirds pounded the ball inside, and kicked out to corner shooters when doubled. Mariners called a timeout and did manage to get on the board, but trailed 19-7 with 2:30 left in the first quarter.
Into the second quarter, the Mariners made their first run to cut into Merritt's lead. They strung together a series of excellent possessions to cut their deficit to just four points 22-18, three minutes into the second quarter. The visitors responded a bit and at halftime Marin trailed 34-29.
The second half began all Merritt as the T-Birds opened on a 9-0 run to push their advantage to 43-29. Marin responded by getting on the board in the third quarter, but Merritt did not relinquish much of their lead and actually extended it to 55-38 by midway through the fourth. The Mariners did make a late run, cutting the lead to eight at 62-54 and got it even closer in the final minute. A three pointer with 7.7 left on the clock cut the lead to 67-62, but Marin could get no closer as they fell by five at the final whistle.
Kaleah Williams posted the best evening of any Marin player as she racked up 25 points including four made three pointers.
The Mariners have a weekend to recover before they travel to Mendocino on Wednesday, January 24th to face the Eagles.