Marlatt, Tobias lead J-L to first win over East Jordan
JOHANNESBURG ― The season and sport may have changed, but as another Johannesburg-Lewiston team looks to get its season started, the duo of Jayden Marlatt and Jocelyn Tobias are poised to lead another Cardinals team to a successful campaign.
After leading the JoBurg volleyball team to 40+ wins and finishing as runner-ups in the Ski Valley Conference in the fall, the Marlatt-Tobias duo has become a staple of JoBurg athletics, and they look to continue that trend on the basketball court this winter.
The JoBurg girls basketball team got its season started this week and, following an opening night loss to Harbor Springs on Tuesday, the Cardinals opened up their home schedule on Thursday, December 1 with their first win of the season, defeating the East Jordan Red Devils 40-29, as Marlatt's 16 points and Tobias's 13 helped improve their record to 1-1 overall.
Fast start on offense and defense
Everything went right for the Cardinals and head coach Ryan Marlatt in the first few minutes of the game as they stormed out to an 8-0 lead out the gates. Jayden Marlatt, Jocelyn Tobias and Gloria House all chipped in four points in the first quarter as the Cardinals stormed out to an early lead.
They also played great defense in the first frame, holding the Red Devils to just 1-for-8 shooting from the field as JoBurg pulled out to a 14-5 lead.
The Red Devils found their offense a bit more in the second quarter, but still could not find the range from deep as the Cardinals held them without a 3-pointer on all seven of their first-half attempts from behind the arc.
Meanwhile, Marlatt took over the second quarter, adding another seven points on 3-for-4 shooting to take a 28-16 lead into halftime.
Offense goes cold, defense stays hot
The second-half offensive numbers were not as pretty for the Cardinals, but their defense continued to play well enough to help them coast to a double-digit victory.
East Jordan's Lindsey Cross added five of her team-high 16 points in the third quarter, but the JoBurg defense kept the Red Devils' shooters out of rhythm all night as they finished 0-for-12 from 3-point range.
Marlatt added another five points in the third quarter to push her point total to 16 for the game, but the only points J-L got in the fourth quarter came off of two Tobias free throws. Still, the defensive effort in the final quarter was enough to come away with the victory.
Marlatt led the way with her 16 points on 6-for-9 shooting, followed by Tobias with 13 points and Sophia Townsend with five points. Also, Gloria House added four points while Brittany Fox added another two.
With its record now at 1-1 overall, JoBurg will be at Inland Lakes next, scheduled to travel to take on the Bulldogs on Wednesday, December 7.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Jayden Marlatt, Jocelyn Tobias lead Johannesburg-Lewiston to first win over East Jordan
