Huntington, Ind. - The Marian women's basketball team remained undefeated in Crossroads League play following their 69-48 win over Huntington Saturday afternoon, as a dominant presence in the paint guided Marian's 12th consecutive victory. The Knights are now 14-1 overall on the season and 5-0 in conference action.
Marian started out on fire Saturday, riding
Ella Collier's hot hand as the senior scored seven of the 21 first quarter points. The senior scored the first points of the game, and watched her post players
Abbey McNally and
Kinnidy Garrard get on the board to assist the opening 6-0 run to the game.
Sara Majorosova and
Allison Bosse added to the scoring fire as Marian extended their run to 14-1 in the first five minutes of play. Huntington would get in a rhythm late in the quarter, but would end the period trailing 21-21 as Marian held their lead into the second period.
The Foresters played tough against the Knights going into the second quarter, as they were able to keep within three scores of Marian by the midway point of the period. A foul shot from
Tamia Perryman with 5:16 to play before halftime gave Marian a 28-18 lead, putting her team in front by double digits for the remainder of the game. Collier and Garrard scored the final nine points of the half for Marian, with a three point play from Collier in the final seconds of the half pushing the lead to 16 points.
After leading 37-21 at halftime, the Knights grabbed a 20-point lead after opening the third quarter on a 4-0 run, putting them further in control. Huntington was able to chop back within a 14-point game as the quarter moved with Marian going through a lull on the offensive end, but three steals on the defensive end led to five unanswered points. The third steal by Majorosova led to a fast break layup for Collier, moving the lead to 48-29. Marian scored 10 points while limiting Huntington to one make from the field over the final four minutes of the quarter, carrying a 58-34 lead going into the final quarter.
Marian led by 19 points or more for the remainder of the game, rotating through their bench as the quarter progressed. Huntington would out-score Marian 14-11 in the final quarter, but the Knights defense proved strong in preventing any comeback effort, forcing eight turnovers in the final quarter of the game.
Kiley McNally would score the last point of the game for Marian from the foul line, as they closed their 69-48 road victory.
Collier finished the afternoon with a game-high 20 points, adding six rebounds and a pair of assists to her stat totals. Garrard finished with 17 points and a blocked shot, and Majorosova scored a season-high eight points with leading the team with three steals. Marian scored 48 of their 69 points in the paint, and added 16 points from the foul line. The defense of Marian forced 22 Huntington turnovers.Â
Marian will return home on Wednesday night, as they open a doubleheader against Bethel University. Tip is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
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