Oak Lawn, Ill. - From the opening tip on Friday night, the Marian women's basketball team dominated, as a 16-0 run to open the game led the Knights to a 77-54 victory over St. Xavier in their first game of the Catholic Classic. Marian's win gives them a 2-0 start to the young season.

From the opening tip, the Knights had the upper hand, scoring on their second possession of the game to start an offensive masterclass. Marian made four of their first five shots from the floor, with Abbey McNally picking up a quick four points while Madisyn Bailey knocked down a three in a 9-0 blitz through two minutes. The defense matched the offensive brilliance, forcing turnovers on three of the first five St. Xavier possessions. A layup for Bailey and Kiley McNally free throw capped Marian's 16-0 run to start the game, with the defense holding the Cougars scoreless through the first 5:40 of Friday's game.

St. Xavier would find a small rhythm offensively toward the end of the first quarter to cut Marian's lead to eight going into the second quarter, as the 16-0 start shrank to an 18-10 lead. The Cougars would open the second quarter scoring with a three-pointer off their first possession, whittling the lead to five before a Kenna Kirby layup drove Marian beyond a two-possession lead. The Knights wouldn't let the Cougars within five points over the remainder of the game, and regained a cushion on the scoreboard with baskets from Olivia Faust and Abbey McNally. 

The scoring rocked back and forth throughout the final six minutes of the first half after Marian extended their lead to three possessions for good, with the game going into halftime at a score of 32-23 in favor of the Knights.

After halftime, Marian turned up their scoring intensity once again, breaking through an early drought with an Abbey McNally bucket. Another layup from the All-American and a three from Madisyn Bailey helped push the game back to a 15-point lead as the clock ticked under five minutes to play in the third quarter, while a pair of fastbreak layups in the final two minutes from Taylor Double and Kenna Kirby ballooned the edge to 18. Marian ended the third quarter leading 52-34.

In the final stanza, Marian put the game to rest early in the period, getting scores inside from Eva Fisher, Olivia Faust, and Emily Grim. A second layup from Fisher in the quarter with 6:53 to play pushed the lead to 20 points, putting the game out of reach for the hosts St. Xavier. Bailey would go on to knock down another three in the final three minutes of play, while a fastbreak layup for Kirby in the waning minute completed the scoring, as Marian closed out their Friday win by a 77-54 count.

Marian shot a red-hot 54.7 percent from the field on Friday night, while making 15 of 19 shots at the charity stripe. The defense recorded 15 steals while forcing 22 Cougar turnovers, while the team held a plus-14 margin in rebounding.

Abbey McNally had a team-high 20 points and 12 rebounds, logging the first double-double of her season with a pair of season-high performances. Bailey scored 18 points and knocked down a career-best four three-pointers, and Kirby had 15 points while dishing five assists. Faust finished the game with eight points, and Grim led the bench with six.

Marian finishes their weekend in the Chicagoland tomorrow afternoon, taking on IU-Northwest. 

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