Girls Basketball: Bey, Ryan Rally Marist Past Mother McAuley

The Skinny: Not here. Not now. Marist’s Asianna Bey and Claire Ryan were not about to let Mother McAuley have its way in a girls basketball rivalry matchup played before a near-capacity crown on Monday night at Marist. Bey scored eight of her 12 points in the third quarter of the RedHawks’ 58-53 come-from-behind victory. She also grabbed 14 rebounds and converted one into a putback basket with 46.1 seconds left to finish the scoring in a wild back-and-forth affair. Ryan added seven of her 11 points in the third quarter as Marist used a 19-2 run to turn the tables on Mother McAuley.

Patch’s MVP: Asianna Bey, 6-1, senior, forward, Marist. Bey scored eight of her 12 points in the third quarter. She also grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds.

Key Moments: Mother McAuley led by as much as 17-4 in the first quarter and 32-27 at halftime. The Mighty Macs made eight of their 11 3-pointers in the first half and threatened to hand Marist its first defeat behind the play of Alyssa Siwek and Elizabeth Nye. The RedHawks switched from a 1-3-1 zone to a man-to-man defense in the second half and used full-court pressure to push the pace.

Mother McAuley Leaders: Alyssa Siwek (22 points, 5 3-pointers), Elizabeth Nye (11 points, 3 3-pointers), Tiffany Fortune (6 points, 2 3-pointers, 7 rebounds), Katherine Kingsbury (5 points, all in the fourth quarter).

Marist Leaders: JeTaun Rouse (13 points, 6 rebounds), Leah Bolton (13 points, 7 rebounds), Asianna Bey (12 points, 14 rebounds), Claire Ryan (11 points, 7 in the third quarter).

Quotable I: “She told us we had to pick it up on defense,” Marist’s Asianna Bey said of the words at halftime from RedHawks coach Mary Pat Connolly. “We had a slow start. We knew we had to get back in it. She told us to guard tight around the perimeter.”

Quotable II: “We told them they were a dangerous three-point shooting team,” Marist coach Mary Pat Connolly said. “Our initial game plan was to get out on their three-point shooters, and that’s what we didn’t do. They couldn’t have been hotter in the first half. So, when we went in at halftime, I told the girls they couldn’t have shot any better than they did, but we’ve got to get out on Siwek and Lizzy Nye we knew could shoot the 3 and who knows who else. So, our plan at halftime was to stop the 3-point shooting, and I think we did that.”

Quotable III: “We were fired up, and I think we showed most people were wrong,” Mother McAuley’s Alyssa Siwek said. “We took it too them. I really don’t think they were expecting us to be that good.”

Team Records: Marist is 17-0. Mother McAuley is 11-7.

What’s Next: Mother McAuley plays at De La Salle on Tuesday (Jan 10). Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. Marist plays host to Simeon on Wednesday (Jan. 11). Game time is 7 p.m.