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WOODSTOCK – The postgame stat sheet from Marian Central’s 63-32 nonconference win Monday night over Richmond-Burton included a jaw-dropping number.
Despite shooting only 26.5% (22 for 83) from the field, the Hurricanes (3-5) tallied 34 offensive rebounds — and had three players with 10 boards.
[ Photos: Marian Central vs. Richmond-Burton girls basketball ]
Abby Todd (game-high 16 points, 10 rebounds), and Madison Kenyon (10 points, 10 rebounds), each had a double-double. Meanwhile, seven of Lucy Iden’s 10 rebounds off the bench came on the offensive glass.
It was a massive team effort from the Hurricanes.
“This game was a really awesome confidence booster for us,” Todd said. “We really had a ton of energy from start to finish, and with a conference game coming up against Carmel later this week, we want to start playing at as high of a level as we can.”
Being energetic is something first-year Marian coach Ryan Sasis wants his team’s identity to be as often as possible.
“Effort is something we can control at all times,” Sasis said. “We’re a team that likes to hang our hat on our speed. And during practice, we spend a ton of time at both ends of the floor working on boxing out, and never giving up on plays.
“We did a really nice job of maintaining a high energy level tonight. These girls showed an incredible amount of heart and desire, which is something we hope we get from them all the time going forward.”
The Hurricanes’ lead was only eight at halftime, 32-24. But they blew the game wide open late, outscoring the Rockets (0-4) by a 20-4 margin in the third quarter and 11-4 in the fourth.
R-B shot only 2 for 13 in the second half, as the Hurricanes forced 14 turnovers in the game’s final 16 minutes. They had 13 steals for the game, led by freshman Abbey Miner, who had five, to go along with her five-point, seven-rebound effort.
“Part of the reason we played with so much intensity in this game was our bench and our fans,” Miner said. “Hearing your teammates yelling and screaming just motivated everyone more. It’s one of those things that’s a big factor in the outcome of games that goes overlooked I think.”
R-B got a team-best eight points from Maddie Havlicek off the bench, while Joy Holian, Zoe Hannemann and Itziar Fernandez all had six apiece. Lilly Alberts had eight rebounds with a pair of steals.
Despite being winless, Rockets coach Stephanie Oslovich sees brighter days ahead for her team.
“You aren’t going to win a lot of games when you turn the ball over 20-plus times,” Oslovich said. “When we’re composed with the basketball, we’re a much different group out there.
“Our defense forced them to miss a ton (61) of shots. And we forced a bunch of turnovers, but weren’t able to do much with them. Once we learn to instinctively push the ball in transition after we get stops, and play to our strengths, the wins will definitely follow.”
BOX SCORE
Marian Central 63, Richmond-Burton 32
Richmond-Burton 13 11 4 4 – 32
Marian Central 14 18 20 11 – 63
Richmond-Burton (32)
Havlicek 3 1-2 8, J. Holian 2 2-3 6, Hannemann 1 4-6 6, Fernandez 2 2-3 6, Donohoe 1 0-0 3, Alberts 1 0-5 2, F, Holian 0 1-2 1, Maldonado 0 0-2 0, Labay 0 0-0 0, Metzler 0 0-1 0, McClellan 0 0-0 0, O-Connor 0 0-0 0, Rivas 0 0-0 0 . Totals: 10 10-22 32.
Marian Central (63)
Todd 7 0-0 16, Kenyon 4 2-2 10, M. Johnson 0 7-10 7, K. Johnson 2 2-3 7, Notaro 3 0-0 6, Miner 2 1-4 5, Denman 2 0-0 5, Iden 2 0-2 4, Kratochvil 0 2-2 2, Wrzos 0 1-2 1, Huff 0 0-0 0, Kelly 0 0-2 0, Totals: 22 15-27 63.
3-point field goals: Marian Central 4 (Todd 2, K. Johnson, Denman). Richmond-Burton 2 (Donohoe, Havlicek).
Total team fouls: Marian Central 20, Richmond-Burton 15. Techincal fouls: None. Fouled out: None.