Fort Wayne, Ind. - After a back and forth battle that saw the Knights trailing at the end of three quarters, the Marian women's basketball team used a 23-point fourth quarter to pull away and earn a 62-50 win over St. Francis. Marian's win improves their season record to 16-1, while moving to 7-0 in Crossroads League play.

Sara Majorosova started her best offensive game of the season strong in the first quarter, as the senior guard dropped Marian's first seven points of the game. The Cougars matched Marian's offense and hung within the Knights throughout the opening period, as neither team were able to gain separation. The game stood at an 11-11 stalemate just over seven minutes into the game, and despite Marian building a 15-12 lead on a pair of Ella Collier foul shots in the last minute, a three-point shot from Julia Mantyla allowed St. Francis to tie the game going into quarter two.

Majorosova broke the 15-15 draw with a trifecta on the first possession of the second quarter as she looked to ignite a run, but the Cougars clawed back scoring five unanswered points of their own. Marian rebounded from the 20-18 deficit with 5:59 to go in the quarter on a three from Collier to pull back in front, while follow up shots from the trio of Kinnidy Garrard, Abbey McNally, and Aliyah Evans grew Marian's lead to five points in a two-minute stretch. Leading 28-23, Marian's defense held their own preventing a St. Francis score for nearly two minutes, but while the defense shined the offense grew cold, scoring just two points in the final four minutes of the first half. A traveling violation committed by Marian on their final possession of the half turned the ball over with 2.7 seconds left before the break, and at the buzzer Chloe McKnight made it a one-point contest after hitting a half-court shot. Marian led 30-29 at the half.

Scoring came even tougher to come by in the second half, as both the Knights and Cougars combined for 20 total points in the third quarter. St. Francis gained a lead early in the quarter to control the pace, as the teams would exchange scores throughout the first five minutes of the quarter. The Cougars would lead by as many as four points in the third quarter, but were unable to extend the lead any higher as Collier and Evans forced the game to a 38-38 game with 3:18 to play in the period. The offensive struggles would continue in the final minutes of the quarter, as the Cougars would take a narrow 40-39 lead to the fourth quarter.

Abbey McNally provided an opportunity for Marian to take a lead quickly into the fourth quarter, but a stretch of five unanswered points by the Cougars in the ensuing minute after the sophomore's bucket saw the Knights trailing once again. Marian continued to fight and got back into a groove with a step-back three-pointer from Evans that scratched the surface, while offense from McNally and Allison Bosse tied the game at 48. Another three from the senior Evans pushed Marian in front 51-50 with 5:32 to play in the game started the winning run, as the Knights' defense stepped up their game.

A clutch three from Tamia Perryman gave Marian a two possession lead with 3:49 to play in the game, and a layup from McNally drove the lead to six points 40 seconds later. Marian continued to play strong defense as they held the Cougars scoreless for the final 5:52 of play, and in the final minute Collier and McNally increased the lead to double-digits, as the Knights escaped victoriously 62-50.

Collier played the entire game Saturday afternoon, tying for a team-lead in points with 15 in the win. McNally posted her second double-double of the week with 15 points and 10 rebounds, rejecting four shots in the win as well. Majorosova scored a season-high 10 points in the win, and Evans added 10 points off the bench. 

Marian will return home as they enter the final stretch in the first half of the Crossroads League season, hosting Mount Vernon Nazarene at 5:00 p.m. in the PE Center.

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