JOLIET, Ill. - The No. 6 Marian women's basketball team kicked off the annual Catholic Classic with a dominating win, defeating Saint Xavier (Ill.) 82-43 on Friday evening. With the win, the Knights improve to 3-1 on the year.

Marian came out firing on all cylinders to start the game as they jumped out to a 5-0 lead that started with an Allison Bosse three-pointer and was capped off by Aliyah Evans. Saint Xavier responded with their first bucket of the game, but it was a jumper by Ella Collier returning the favor a play later to back up 7-2. The Cougars came within one at the 1:36 mark before back-to-back layups by Abbey McNally sparked a 7-0 spurt to end the quarter ahead 16-8.

After a solid start to the game, McNally got the Knights rolling again 16 seconds into the second quarter with a jumper on the feed from Kinnidy Garrard. Saint Xavier answered back with the and-one play, shifting the momentum to their side a little as they the two teams went back and forth for the next few minutes. Evans and Collier combined for the team's next six points to surge Marian ahead 33-20. The Cougars added two points, but it was the Knights ending the quarter with scores coming from Garrard, Tamia Perryman, and Collier, putting Marian at a 40-22 advantage at the break.

The Knights hit the 20 point lead mark with 7:27 remaining in the third quarter after Perryman canned a pair of freebies. Saint Xavier was able to counter with two free throws of their own before both teams traded buckets. Even when it seemed like the game was fairly matched for a moment, Marian was able to knock down shots to keep at a steady distance from the Cougars. Collier knocked down a pair of shots from the charity stripe, sparking a 7-0 run that would be topped off with a triple by the senior with two ticks remaining on the clock, giving the Knights the 60-33 lead going into the final quarter of play.

Marian continued to build upon their lead as they started the fourth quarter with a 16-2 burst to go ahead by 40 after Kiley McNally scored in the paint. Baskets were traded over the next few possessions, but free throws by K. McNally and a turnaround jumper from Esther Sevilla put the Knights back on top 82-40. Saint Xavier was able to find one last three in the final seconds to end the game at a 82-43 score, in favor of the Knights. 

Collier ended with a game-high 25 points to go along with four steals, and three rebounds. Bosse was the only other double digit scorer for Marian with 11, while Garrard was two points away from a double double, scoring eight points and tracking down a game-best 11 rebounds. A. McNally added eight points and seven rebounds, with Evans dishing out a team-best four assists to go along with her six points and six rebounds. 

Marian will finish the Catholic Classic tomorrow afternoon as they face the host, St. Francis (Ill.) at 4 p.m.

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