INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The Marian women's basketball team claimed a 69-51 win over Spring Arbor in their CL home opener on Saturday afternoon. The Knights are now 7-1 overall and 2-0 in the Crossroads League.

The Cougars took the early lead with a layup to claim the first basket of the game. Abbey McNally quickly fired back with a layup to bring the game to a tie. Spring Arbor took the lead back into their hands with a free throw but were followed up by a layup by Madisyn Bailey to claim the 4-3 lead for the Knights. The Knights went on a scoring run with Taylor Double's jumper and Eva Fisher's layup to bring the score 9-3 going into the media timeout. Eva Fisher continued to extend the Knights lead with a free throw out of the timeout. Kennedy Fuelling got her hand in the mix with a three to extend the margin to 10 points. The Cougars chipped at Marian's lead with two free throws to bring the score 13-5. Bailey's layups and jumpers followed by McNally's free throw put the Knights in a 13 point lead with 19 seconds left in the quarter. Kennedy Fuelling shot a half court three to bring the score 21-5 at the end of the quarter.

Fuelling opened up the second quarter with another three to extend the margin to 19 points. The Cougars fought back with back-to-back layups to bring the score 24-9. Double followed up with a jumper as well as McNally's layup. Spring Arbor fought back with a jumper to chip at the home team's lead. Both sides traded points with Olivia Faust claiming two jumpers for the Knights. Spring Arbor fired back with a pair of free throws to bring the score 32-18. Emily Grim and Bailey ended the quarter with three layups to bring the score 38-20 going into the half. 

The Cougars opened up the third quarter with a three pointer at the 9:19 mark. Marian followed up with a jumper by Double. The visitors continued to chip at the home team's lead with a free throw followed by a jumper. Double went on a three basket run with a three pointer followed with a layup and free throw to bring the score 46-26. The Cougars and Knights traded baskets once more with Fuelling claiming another three and a pair of free throws to extend the lead. Faust and McNally each had a pair of free throws to end the quarter 55-33.

Marian opened the fourth quarter with a pair of free throws from Fuelling. The Cougars followed it up with a three pointer at the 8:46 mark. Bailey followed up with a layup and free throw to extend the Knights lead 60-36. Spring Arbor chipped at the Knight lead with a layup but was answered by Bailey's layup followed by a free throw to extend the margin to 25. The Cougars went on a streak with a layup followed by a pair of free throws. Both sides traded baskets once more with Kenna Gray claiming a layup and McNally and Bailey each claiming a layup bringing the score 69-47. The Cougars closed out the game with a pair of free throws and a layup to finalize the 69-51 win for Marian.

Madisyn Bailey and Kennedy Fuelling led the team each claiming 16 points while Taylor Double claimed 13. Abbey McNally led the team in rebounds with nine while Bailey wasn't far behind with eight. Bailey, Double, Fuelling, and Olivia Faust each had three steals. Bailey and Double each had four assists in the win.  

The Knights will be back in action on Tuesday, November 26th at 5:30 p.m. at home against St. Thomas University.

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