Marian Catholic Girls Fall to Wisconsin Power Nicolet

Marian Catholic’s girls went into their basketball game on Monday feeling sick and felt worse when it was over.

The Spartans lost 50-44 to Nicolet, Wis., in a game that featured hectic play up and down the floor, and finished with a few pointed questions from Marian coach Annie Basic-Byrne.

“We’ve got some players that have been sick, but how many layups did we miss? How many free throws did we miss?” she said. “We took the game away from ourselves. I’m very disappointed, especially at this point in the season.”

Monday’s game was part of Willowbrook’s 21st annual McDonald’s Shootout in Villa Park, an afternoon game played on a day off from school due to Martin Luther King Day.

Marian Catholic (18-3), ranked among Illinois’ top 10 teams, squared off with a top-10 Wisconsin team in Nicolet. The game was fast-paced from the outset, with a pair of scrambling defenses taking on a pair of quick-shooting offenses through much of the contest.

Nicolet got out fast from the gate with a pair of buckets from the game’s leading scorer, Ashley Green, who finished with 18 points. A 12-foot jumper from Simone Law broke the ice for Marian, but the Spartans trailed 12-8 after a quarter of play.

The Spartans’ best quarter came in the second, when they earned a 12-4 scoring edge in grabbing a 20-16 halftime lead, with six different players scoring in the quarter.

A steal and layup by Alanna Ferry started the quarter, followed by a nifty drive and spin-move from Megan Walsh. A basket by Jamie Johnson on a Law feed and a pair of Jasmine Matthews free throws followed, before a putback from Amber Williams and a Law bucket in the lane finished the second-quarter scoring.

The third quarter started roughly for Marian, as Nicolet went on a 12-0 run to take a 28-20 lead, but the Spartans answered back with a 9-0 scoring run of their own to regain the lead.

Matthews started the run with a pair of free throws and ended it with a 15-footer that gave Marian a 29-28 lead. The senior finished with a team-high 12 points and the Spartans led 32-31 after three quarters of play.

After only allowing four second-quarter points, the Spartans gave up 19 in the fourth–12 of which came on Nicolet free throws.

“I just don’t think we were there mentally today and not everyone is feeling well on the team,” Law said. “We’ve got a team flu going around. We’re disappointed, but if we played them again I think it would be a different game.”

Law finished with 10 points, Ferry netted eight, and Johnson scored six points on the day for Marian Catholic.

The Spartans are on the road at Kankakee Bishop McNamara for an East Suburban Catholic conference game on Wednesday and then travel to St. Joseph Academy for a game on Saturday.