No. 1 Marian Advances to NAIA Second Round After 96-67 Win Over Haskell

INDIANAPOLIS - The Marian women's basketball team is advancing to the NAIA National Tournament Second Round, as Marian handled their First Round contest on Friday night, pulling away in the fourth quarter to take a landslide 96-67 victory over Haskell Indian Nations. Marian's win stamps a date for Saturday's Second Round, as the Knights move to 30-2 overall on the season, and 10-0 in postseason games played on their home floor. 

Marian had to shake off some rust as they returned to action for the first time in 11 days, falling behind early in the game as Haskell scored the first five points of the game. It took a steal from Kiley McNally to start the Marian offense, as the senior turned the giveaway into seven unanswered points, helping bring the Knights level 7-7. The spark from McNally gave the Knights some life, as Madisyn Bailey and Taylor Double pushed Marian into the lead. The three-pointer from Double sprang the Knights on a 14-2 run, as Marian pushed the lead into double figures as the quarter pushed past the media timeout. Bailey finished the first quarter with eight points, hitting a free throw in the waning seconds to cap a 25-15 start.

The Knights would start the second quarter stronger than the first, as Kenna Kirby knocked down an early three-point shot to increase the lead to 13 points. Kirby's three-pointer forced a timeout from Haskell, and quickly derailed the Knights' early momentum, as the Fighting Indians scored a quick layup out of the break to ignite a 7-0 run. With the lead cut down to six, the Knights were forced to rely on the defense that had taken them into the national tournament, getting two steals that turned into a pair of layups for Kirby. The lead pushed back to double figures following Kirby's 4-0 run, Marian turned to three-point shooting, getting a pair of makes from downtown from Aubrey Frank, while a third trifecta from Kennedy Coleman gave the Knights a 41-27 edge. 

A late basket from Emily Grim closed out Marian's first half scoring, helping Marian take a 43-32 lead at the break.

In the third quarter, Marian made an early statement, as Abbey McNally got back on the court after sitting a majority of the first half in foul trouble, scoring four of Marian's first six points to open the quarter. The resurgence of McNally gave the Knights a new energy, as the lead teetered near 20 points following Zoe Wheeler's layup. Marian remained in control as the quarter progressed, with a series of Aubrey Frank baskets pushing the advantage on the Fighting Indians to 22 points at a 64-42 clip.

The second of Frank's scores came with 2:46 to play in the third and forced a Haskell timeout, which would give the road team one final spurt. Haskell out-scored Marian 11-4 in the final two minutes of the third, cutting the Knights' lead down to 15 at a 68-53 count entering the fourth quarter.

Marian made up the Haskell points quickly as the fourth quarter began, roaring into the final stanza on a one-sided 16-0 run. Abbey McNally scored six points in the run, and Kenna Kirby's fastbreak layup four minutes into the quarter gave Marian a commanding 84-53 advantage. The large run into the fourth quarter put the game on ice, as Marian rotated in their bench over the final six minutes, leading by as many as 32-points as they closed the NAIA First Round with a 29-point victory, winning 96-67.

The daunting Marian defense forced 29 turnovers in the win, which led to 19 steals as a team. Madisyn Bailey and Kiley McNally each had four steals in the win, with each player finishing with 12 points on the night. Abbey McNally scored a team-high 19 points in the win, grabbing seven rebounds in her 18 minutes of play. Bailey would finish the night with 10 assists, logging her third double-double of the year. Kenna Kirby scored 14 points to lead the bench, and Aubrey Frank finished the night with 11 points. 

Marian plays the winner between Columbia and Carroll on Saturday night at 6:00 p.m.

MUKnights.com: Your online source for Marian Athletics, tickets, multimedia, Knight merchandise, photos and more.