Girls Basketball

Indians fall at Vinton

VINTON — Kristin Kramer scored 10 points for Marion on Dec. 10 in a 52-39 loss to Vinton-Shellsburg.

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Indians fall in final minute

MARION — The Clippers of Clear Creek Amana (1-4) scored the last five points of the game to hold off Marion (1-3) in a hard-fought 47-45 Wamac Conference game Dec. 7.

A seesaw tussle saw Marion control the first quarter, the Clippers led at the half, a tie after three quarters, and the Clippers taking the game in the final minute.

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Anamosa edges Marion, 27-25

ANAMOSA — Jessie Kramer scored 10 points on Dec. 3 as Marion was nudged by Anamosa, 27-25, in girls basketball.

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Busy O’Donnell takes reigns at Marion

Brian O’Donnell could teach a class in time management. If he had the time, that is.

O’Donnell teaches social studies at Springville High School, putting in a full day that typically stretches from 7:45 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.

When that’s over, he hustles over to Marion High School to coach the girls basketball team from roughly 4 to 6 p.m., but he’s not done yet.

He’s taking on-line classes from Grand Canyon College to get an administrative degree, so he’s got to flip on the computer for his class, and he’s also married with two young children, Brady, almost 3, and Blake, 8 months.

“So we stay busy,” said O’Donnell, catching his breath after a practice.

He described his wife, Jenny, as “very tolerant.”

“The wife of a coach,” he said.

O’Donnell, 35, succeeded Sherryl Gaffney-Paige as the head coach at Marion this year after a successful stint as the head girls’ basketball coach at Springville. He went 0-22 in his first year at Springville, yet by 2008 the Orioles were the Class 1A state champions.

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