Milwaukee, Wis. – The Marian women's basketball team finished out the weekend on a strong note, defeating Cardinal Stritch in a dominating 86-38 victory.
It was Cardinal Stritch scoring the first points of the game with a three, but it did not take long for Marian to answer behind three straight baskets coming from Ella Collier, Allison Bosse, and Abbey McNally to give the Knights the 6-3 lead. The Wolves came back with a three and jumper to end the run and take the two-point lead. Aliyah Evans gave her team some momentum by scoring eight points coming off the bench to help guide her team to the 20-16 lead after quarter one.
The two teams traded baskets for the first two minutes of action to start the second quarter, until Evans and Kenna Kirby would knock down a layup to roll Marian to an 11-0 run to give them the 17-point lead at 37-20 with 4:09 remaining in the frame. Stritch would manage to end the run, but it was all Marian closing out the quarter with seven straight points behind an Evans layup and Collier three, before Sara Majorosova would put a layup in with six seconds remaining to send the Knights to the locker room with the 44-23 lead at the half.
Marian picked up right where they left off after the break, jumping out to a 15-2 run. Collier canned one from deep and proceeded to knock down a jumper and another three for her team's first eight points of the quarter. Olivia Faust and Bosse got in on the action with Faust hitting her first of two threes in the quarter to increase the lead to 57-25. The Wolves ended the run with a layup and a pair of freebies, but it was Faust scoring the team's last seven of Marian's last 11 points in the quarter to finish ahead 70-33 going into the final period of play.
Faust picked off right where she left off, canning a pair of threes to start the final quarter and increase the lead to 76-33. It wasn't until 7:09 was left in the quarter when Cardinal Stritch finally got on the scoreboard before Tamia Perryman came off the bench, scoring two layups, and Majestic Sales and Kenna Gray helped extend the lead to the largest lead of the season at 50 points after a good jumper and three. The Knights would go on to win by a margin of 48 with the final score at 86-38.
Four Knights scored in double digits with Collier paving the way with 16 points, eight rebounds, and five assists. Faust had 16 points going 4-7 from long range, while Evans added 12 points, and Bosse had 10 points and three assists. Kirby had seven points five rebounds with McNally took team-high rebounding honors with seven. Jayla Wehner was the playmaker for Marian as she dished out 10 assists.
Marian will return to action on November 11 as they take on Carroll College in the first day of the IWU Leah Whittaker Memorial Tournament.
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