Amaya Marlatt

The Jackson Heights girls’ basketball team entered the Hiawatha Invitational last week as the No. 5-ranked team in Class 1A-DI and proved why going 3-0 in the tournament with a thrilling 44-41 win over Marysville on Saturday.

A big key to the success of the Cobras was the play of senior Amaya Marlatt who averaged just shy of 16 points per game through the four wins which including a 30-point win over Maur Hill-Mount Academy on Friday in a NEKL makeup game.

Marlatt opened the week with a 14-point outing in a 12-point win over Hiawatha, then followed that up with 13 more on Thursday in a close win over St. Mary’s.

She then upped her scoring to 17 points in the big win over MH-MA and then in the championship against Marysville scored a game-high 19 points.

On the season she is averaging 14.5 points per game while pulling down nearly six rebounds a night.

Marlatt was named a second team all-Northeast Kansas League selection a year ago and earned an honorable all-state selection by Sports in Kansas.

She will look to continue her strong play with just three weeks remaining in the regular season and lead the Cobras to a Northeast Kansas League title and a deep playoff run as well.