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Marshall’s young girls basketball team came within three points of a holiday tournament title, falling to host Mount Vernon, 40-37, in the Mount Vernon Holiday Classic championship game.

The Statesmen finished 2-1 in the tournament and took second place, providing an early highlight in their first season under head coach Doug Sawitzky.

Mount Vernon opened a 10-4 advantage before Marshall rallied in a back-and-forth final and moved ahead several times. The Majors carried a 23-22 lead into halftime and held off the Statesmen down the stretch.

Tori Barnes paced Mount Vernon with 19 points, while Rachael Sykes scored nine. Natalie Turner, KaMiyah Dabner and Jada Curry were also among the Majors’ leading scorers during the tournament.

Marshall reached the championship game by defeating Westfield, 47-26, and Annandale, 62-19. Senior Chloe Cole scored 13 points against Westfield, while sophomores Katie Kuczkowski and Madison Evans each contributed 12 against Annandale.

Mount Vernon advanced with a 58-23 victory over Gar-Field and a 46-33 win against Justice.

The tournament left Marshall with a 7-5 record, already one victory shy of its total from last winter. With only four seniors on the roster, the Statesmen have endured some expected early-season inconsistency and losses to perennial powers Robinson and Madison, though they showed promising stretches in both games.

Mount Vernon improved to 6-2 after a 16-8 campaign last winter. The more experienced Majors are expected to contend for the National District title.