Underclassmen, coach’s motivation add spark to Marion girls’ stellar run

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MARION, S.C. – Sooner or later, the state basketball scene might notice what the unranked Marion girls are doing.

Coach Harry Smith’s Swamp Foxes are not only 14-1, but they have made most of those 14 consecutive victories look easy since losing the opener against Conway.

Marion, by the way, avenged that loss with a 56-41 victory before the Christmas break.

Even on defending state champion and top-ranked Mullins’ court earlier this month, all Marion did there was win 78-57. The Swamp Foxes even defeated a solid Latta program 72-49 last week.

With two returning starters (sophomore Kelya Britt and senior Martecia Godbolt), a youth movement and coach’s mantra have also been the driving forces in Marion’s success.

Britt averages 13.5 points. But she is helped by a deep rotation of newcomers that includes Arriyona Rogers, Kimbrie’l Barnes, Mariah Moody, Tonaja Lester (10.1 points per game) and Karahya McClam.

“Those five or six students off JV and middle school have really contributed to our base nucleus this year,” Smith said. “They’ve grown up pretty fast. They’re not scared to play. I think they take it as more of a challenge to play against the upper class and stuff like that. They’re really now starting to feel their way.”

But tenacity is only part of what has helped Marion maintain a strong program (the Swamp Foxes reached last year’s Class 2A lower-state semifinals).

“I preach by the acronym, ‘T.E.A.M,’” Smith said.

Smith, however, prefers to even add another “M” at the end. Instead of the mantra, “Together, Everyone Achieves More,” Smith’s other M adds something else, as in “Together, Everybody Achieves MUCH More.”

“’Much more’ means making that extra pass, because some kids don’t like to make that extra pass,” Smith said. “It’s about giving it more effort on defense, giving more effort on rebounds.

“Again, much more.”

The victory over Conway gave Marion confidence.

“That was our turning point of the season,” Smith said. “They found out they could play against playoff-type teams. But then against Mullins, it was really a team effort. We got great play from our bench. Everyone just really did a great job.

“Our players played aggressive,” Smith said. “And usually you have kids, when they play against Mullins, they are passive-aggressive. But we were aggressive on offense and defense and in every phase of the game. We were basically up for the challenge in that game, especially a rivalry game.”

While the Swamp Foxes learned some things about themselves, Smith learned a lot about his team from the victory over the Auctioneers.

“I told them they were really going to find out what they are made of,” Smith said. “Mullins was unveiling their state championship banner that night. You really grow up in games like that.”

But let’s go back to Smith’s acronym. That reminds you he is far from satisfied.

“They’re playing up to our expectations, but we think we can play at an even higher level,” Smith said. “We’ve just got to work on a couple of things. I think by now, teams have heard about us and are looking at us on film, more. So, we’ve got to pay more attention to detail.

“That’s what we need to improve on.”

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