INDIANAPOLIS – The No. 6 Marian women's basketball team put together a dominating defensive game to come away with the 86-46 victory Saturday afternoon over Goshen. With the win, the Knights move to 16-1 overall and 7-0 in Crossroads League play.
Marian was the first to strike in the game with Aliyah Evans connecting with Abbey McNally for the fastbreak layup before Ella Collier knocked down the jumper to have the 4-0 lead early. Goshen came back with a bucket of their own, but a shot in the paint by Evans sparked a 14-2 run, giving the Knights the 18-4 lead. The Maple Leafs finally found four points on the three-point and-one play to cut the deficit to 10. Goshen scored the last points of the quarter with Marian taking the 20-10 lead going into quarter two.
The Knights cruised to a 12-0 run to start the second quarter with points coming from four different players. Marian's defense suffocated Goshen until the Maple Leafs found a jumper from Zion Neat at the 6:25 mark. Sara Majorosova responded 20 seconds later with a three-pointer before finding Evans on the fast break, who executed an and-one. The last five minutes of action the two teams traded points before Collier had the last word as she canned the jumper with four ticks remaining. Marian took the 49-25 lead going into halftime.
A Majorosova three got Marian going after break, fueling a 7-0 spurt to reach a 31-point advantage. Syanne Mohamed answered for the Maple Leafs with a shot in the lane. However, the smothering defense by the Knights continued in the quarter, holding Goshen to just six points and finishing quarter three on a 19-4 run. The Knights held the 75-31 lead going into the fourth quarter after Collier drilled the shot at the buzzer.
Goshen hit a free throw to open the scoring up in the fourth quarter before Jayla Wehner gave Marian their first points of the quarter after she knocked down the pullup jumper. With 5:10 to go, Goshen made a bit of a push scoring the game's next six points to cut the deficit to 79-41. Kiley McNally and Esther Sevilla each came off the bench to score a bucket before Sevilla canned the three-pointer to put a finish to the 86-46 victory for the Knights.
Collier led Marian with 26 points while Majorosova added a season-high 14 points and eight assists. Abbey McNally was the other double-digit scorer with 12 while she also pulled down nine rebounds. Evans had nine points, Wehner and Kinnidy Garrard each had six.
The Knights return to the court on Wednesday, January 11 when they travel to St. Francis. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
MUKnights.com: Your online source for Marian Athletics, tickets, multimedia, Knight merchandise, photos, and more.
