Girls Basketball: Marian Catholic overpowers Mother McAuley

Sophomore guard Ashton Millender scored 11 points to lead Marian Catholic to a 55-45 win over Mother McAuley on Saturday afternoon in the Maine West Tip-Off Classic.

It was the Spartans’ third straight tournament victory.

Marian Catholic made its mark from the free-throw line, where it had an impressive 38 attempts. For the game, the Spartans were 26-of-38 (68 percent) from the foul line.

“We have a long ways to go,” Marian Catholic coach Annie Byrne said. “We just have to calm down. We are a young team and we are forcing things that are unnecessary right now. I’m very proud of them because they pulled together when they needed to.”

Marian Catholic (3-1) also received contributions from sophomore Dajhae Mullins (10 points) and Alanna Ferry and Megan Walsh (9 points each).

Mother McAuley (1-4) was led by junior Alyssa Siwek, who scored 11 points. Elizabeth Nye and Brenna Nolan added 10 and seven points, respectively.

A total of 56 fouls were called in the game, resulting in five players fouling out and neither team getting into an offensive rhythm.

“There was really no flow to the game but that’s not why we lost the game,” Mother McAuley coach Karen Ade said. “We missed some key free throws and had some key turnovers. Unfortunately, our record doesn’t indicate how good we are.”

Tiffany Fortune’s basket put the Mighty Macs up 40-36 with just under seven minutes left in the game.

A Mullins basket gave Marian Catholic the lead for good at 44-42 with 3:30 remaining. Mullins connected on all five of her shots from the field.

Nye’s driving layup cut the Marian Catholic lead to 47-44 with a minute left.

The Spartans then closed the game with an 8-1 run, nearly all the points coming from the free-throw line.

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