Girls Basketball: Marist Subdues L-Way East Attack

The Hot Read: Marist defense was dominant in a 55-38 girls basketball victory over Lincoln-Way East in the Class 4A Lincoln-Way North Sectional on Monday night. The RedHawks held the Griffins to no field goals over a span of a quarter and a half, outscoring East 24-5 in that stretch. The Marist scoring spurt silenced a decidedly Griffin-friendly crowd. The RedHawk defense forced 16 turnovers and controlled the boards all night.

Patch’s MVP: Marist's Asiana Bey finished with 16 points, eight rebounds and four blocks.

Key Stats:  The Griffins may have been 17-of-25 from the freethrow line, but just 10-of-45 from the floor. The Redhawks pulled down 38 rebounds, 19 of which came on the offensive end. Marist also went 5-of-12 from the three-point arc.

Marist Leaders: Asiana Bey (16 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks), Randyll Butler 7 points, 9 rebounds), Megan James (6 points). 

Lincoln-Way East Leaders: Taylor Johnson (14 points, 4 steals), Meaghan McMahon (7 points, 7 rebounds), Julia Piech (5 points, 3 rebounds).

Quotable I: Marist coach Mary Pat Connolly: "One of our focuses coming into the game was to control the boards, and I think we accomplished that. I thought it might not have been pretty, but we're going to the sectional finals, and we're happy about that."

Quotable II: Lincoln-Way East coach Jim Martin: "They crashed the boards hard, and we didn't do a good job against that. When they went from a man to a zone, we struggled. We couldn't get the ball into Caitlyn McMahon. I'll give our kids credit. They've got a ton of character and play the game the way it's supposed to be played, and I love them. They've made this year one of the best in 10 years. You can't ask for more."

Team Records: Marist improves to 27-5. Lincoln-Way East finishes 25-6.

What’s Next: Marist will take on Marian Catholic at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Lincoln-Way North for the sectional crown. Marian defeated Homewood-Flossmoor 72-58.