By Josh Brown
& Scott Allen

(MARSHALL) — After pulling off a mild upset in round one, Robinson High School’s girls’ basketball team nearly pulled off a much bigger one in the semifinals of the LIC Tournament Tuesday in Marshall. The Lady Maroons rallied from an early deficit, but ultimately fell short to top-seeded and Class 2A No. 6-ranked Paris in overtime, 42-39.

Robinson fell behind 12-1 at the outset and still trailed 12-3 at the end of the first quarter and 23-12 at halftime. The Lady Maroons rallied in the second half, outscoring Paris 13-6 in the third quarter to close the gap to 29-25, then won the fourth quarter 11-7 to send the game to overtime tied at 36-36. However, Paris won the overtime period, 6-3, to hang on for the win.

Paedyn Keys led Paris with 12 points, while Macy Bicknell was also in double figures with 10. Leah Correll and Lillie McDonald led Robinson with 10 points apiece, while Sicily Rawlings scored eight.

In Tuesday’s other semifinal, second-seeded and defending champion Mt. Carmel held off third-seeded Olney for a 71-69 win.

One night earlier, the consolation semifinal games were held. Newton bounced back from the upset loss to Robinson by defeating Casey-Westfield,  56-36, while Marshall edged Lawrenceville, 50-44.

The tournament concludes over the next two nights with final placement games. Here’s the schedule:

Thursday, Jan. 22
7th place game: Casey-Westfield (9-15) vs. Lawrenceville (8-14), 6:00 p.m.
5th place game: Newton (14-8) vs. Marshall (11-7), 7:30 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 23
3rd place game: Robinson (12-10) vs. Olney (11-9), 6:00 p.m.
Championship game: #6 2A Paris (17-3)  vs. Mt. Carmel (16-7), 7:30 p.m.