Marist girls’ basketball demolished Joliet Catholic Academy (JCA) in the first home game of their season December 2. The fast-paced conference matchup took place in the main gym of Marist High School.
“We were excited, the team and I, we were excited to win. It’s a conference match-up between us and JCA. It’s nice to get off to a good start,” said Coach Renee Chimino.
MHS’s starting lineup included: Olivia Cosme, Grace Harmon, Lily Porter, Madison Vrdolyak, and Lucy Cosme.
The game began with MHS winning the jump ball. Harmon then sank a three-pointer to start the game. After great defense from both teams, Vrdolyak made the first free throw of the night.
Marist’s defense was strong, holding JCA to 6 points the entire first quarter while still being able to put up 20 points. MHS ended the first quarter with a lead of 14 points.
“I think that our team played extremely well. We did a great job with our defense and bringing things we worked on in practice into the game. I think that this game was not the best competition we will get, but we showed that we can still play well while playing not the best of teams,” said Maeve Fitzgibbons.
Thirty seconds into the second quarter, Olivia Barsch buried a three-pointer to up the score at 7-36. JCA ended up shooting a three-pointer and two free throws early into the second quarter. To continue adding to their lead, Lucy Cosme, Vrdolyak, and Bella Flisak put up a total of 21 points to end the second quarter. By halftime, Marist was up by 40 points (41-11).
“We haven’t even started to scratch the surface of how good we can be this year,” said Fitzgibbons.
As the third quarter began, Vrdolyak put up a three-point shot. Both Marist and JCA let two fouls fall through the cracks. JCA began to make shot after shot until Marist put that to an end. Every ball that MHS had put up found its way to the basket. Marist still had the lead, ending the third quarter with a score of 64-16.
“I think as a team, we have grown so much. I think there is no team on our schedule that’s not beatable. If we continue to work hard every day I think it will pay off in the end,” said Harmon.
The fourth quarter mainly consisted of turnovers, leading to more carefully thought-out defensive measures. Even though there was not much scoring, this was by far the most eventful quarter. JCA had lit a flame that wasn’t there in the first three quarters, putting their all into that last quarter.
Despite their efforts, the RedHawks finished the game with a whopping 48-point lead, resulting in an ending score of 69-21.
“I feel that both teams put up an amazing fight, but as always the RedHawks came out on top. Varsity played an amazing game against JCA. From the team chemistry to the top-tier decision-making, it was a great game all around,” says freshman Mia Bernard.
