Girls Basketball: Marian Catholic upends Fenwick
By Phil Brozynski For Sun-Times Media February 11, 2012 11:54PM
Updated: April 12, 2012 1:52AM
The last thing an expectant mother such as Marian Catholic coach Annie Byrne needs is too much excitement. But, apparently, her team likes to keep her on edge.
“If we made half of our layups, we win by 30,” Byrne said shortly after No. 5 Marian Catholic defeated Fenwick 62-48 in both teams’ East Suburban Catholic finale Saturday in Oak Park.
“They just like to keep me nervous on the sidelines,” she joked. “They want to make sure I’m not too comfortable.”
Both teams had trouble finding the basket, but Marian Catholic (19-11, 7-2) was able to convert a number of turnovers and fast breaks into easy layups to emerge with a victory that assured the Spartans of a third-place finish in the league standings.
Ashton Millender led Marian Catholic with 24 points, including a crucial three-pointer late in the third quarter that gave the visitors a 39-29 lead after Fenwick (20-9, 6-3) had trimmed a 26-14 deficit to 32-28.
“We wanted to come out strong in the first and third quarters,” said Millender, who scored 17 of her points in the second half. “We talked about not getting discouraged.”
Teniya Page had nine points and Megan Walsh added six points and nine rebounds for Marian Catholic, which increased the lead to 18 points, 49-31, in the fourth quarter.
“I think we’re just young and just learning how to mentally come and play the game down the stretch,” Byrne said. “Every experience for us has been new. Today, they came ready to play, and they came determined.
“When Fenwick made its run, we didn’t panic. I think we showed great composure.”
Jade Owens led Fenwick with 15 points and Meredith Boardman added 14 points and 11 rebounds, but the Friars were only 4-for-33 from the field in the first half.
