MARIETTA - The Marietta girls struggled with their shooting throughout Tuesday night's game against Cherokee.

But what the Lady Blue Devils lacked on offense, they more than made up for it on defense, beating the Lady Warriors, 39-28, for their ninth win in a row Tuesday in Region 5AAAAA action at Marietta Garden.

While neither team shot well, it was Marietta's defense that made the difference as the Lady Blue Devils forced a number of Cherokee turnovers and jumped out to an 11-3 lead at the end of the first quarter to take control of the game.

"We did a very good job on defense," Marietta coach Ken Sprague Jr. said. "It took a very good defensive effort to hold a team like that to 28 points."

The Lady Blue Devils (13-3, 7-2) struggled from the field, but were red-hot from the free-throw line, going 17-for-19 overall and 12-for-12 in the fourth quarter.

Marietta was feeling the effects of playing four games in five days, including its 53-42 win over Campbell a day earlier.

"Mentally, we were a little tired," Sprague said. "We were a step slow all night."

Keyona Hayes scored 13 points to lead Marietta.

No Cherokee player scored in double figures, with Haley Chambers scoring eight points and Callie Satterfield adding seven, to lead the Lady Warriors (11-6, 6-4).

Marietta jumped out to a 5-0 lead and before Alyssa Howell hit a 3-pointer to cut Cherokee's deficit to 5-3 with 3:35 remaining in the first quarter.

Marietta then began to reap the benefits of its defensive pressure as Hayes scored a layup off of a Cherokee turnover. Soon after, Brittany Johnson picked up a steal, was fouled on a layup and completed the three-point play. Dearica Hamby added a free throw of her own after another Lady Warrior turnover to put the Lady Blue Devils ahead, 11-3, at the end of the first quarter.

Johnson continued Marietta's run at the beginning of the second quarter with a 3-pointer to increase the lead to 14-3.

Cherokee began to hit some 3s of its own after that as shots by Howell and Satterfield helped the Lady Warriors go on a 10-2 run that cut Marietta's lead to 16-13 with 1:38 remaining in the first half.

But a three-point play from Hamby, coupled with a layup by Molly Fagan, gave Marietta a 21-13 lead at halftime.

The Lady Blue Devils stretched their lead into double digits in the third quarter and was up, 27-16, with 1:30 left, but a 3-pointer by Chambers and transition layup by Bree Wells helped Cherokee narrow the Marietta's lead to 27-21 at the end of the period.

Another 3 by Chambers brought Cherokee within three points, 27-24, with 7:26 left, but Marietta pulled away and clinched the game at the free-throw line, scoring all 12 of its points in a 12-0 run at the charity stripe to take a 39-26 lead with 38.4 seconds left.

"They're Marietta," Cherokee coach Matt Cates said. "They're just a very good team and they're always a tough team to play. They did a very good job defensively. We needed to rebound well and shoot the ball well, and we did only one of those. We rebounded well, but we didn't shoot the ball well."

Marietta will try to stretch its winning streak to 10 on Friday when it travels to Harrison.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Cherokee 53, Marietta 51: Quin Watts made two of his three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter as the Warriors held off the Blue Devils.

Michael Kvam led Cherokee (9-8, 4-6), which took a 29-18 lead at the half, with 25 points, including five 3-pointers. He also led the team with six rebounds.

Marietta (4-12, 2-7) closed the gap in the third, outscoring Cherokee, 20-11, in the period, but a solid defensive effort by the Warriors was enough to stall the Blue Devils in the fourth.

Watts finished with 16 points for the Warriors.

Nnamdi Akpuru led Marietta with 14 points and DeVante Thornton added nine.