Saint Viator keeps its roll going with victory over Marian Central
Momentum and Opportunity.
Regardless of sport, those two things can take hold for anyone or any team for that matter.
Take as an example Saint Viator's 50-34 East Suburban Catholic girls basketball win over visiting Marian Central Catholic Saturday afternoon in Arlington Heights. It gave the Lions (6-1, 4-1) more momentum in the shape of their fourth consecutive victory over a visiting Hurricanes squad that was seeking to build momentum of its own from a Senior Night home win over Grant just 24 hours earlier.
"We just came out there and did our best," senior Lion guard Ava McClellan, whose 6-point, 4-rebound effort aided the Viator victory in her first career start after having battles with a torn ACL in her knee that cost her the previous couple of seasons prior to the COVID-19 pandemic's arrival.
"It's my senior year and I'm just really excited to get out and play," McClellan, who got her first basket on an assist from twin sister Keely in the third period, said.
The hosts took control after the first quarter mask break when they used a 16-1 run over the remaining 4:49 of the first to take an 18-5 advantage into the second.
Saint Viator's leading scorer, senior guard Emma Morrissey, scored 5 of her game-high 12 points for the Lions during that run. The lead got as high as 33-13 at half and would get no lower than the game's final margin.
However, despite the game's outcome no longer being in doubt, the visiting Hurricanes (2-5, 0-4) showed a lot of fight, particularly in the second half, leaving Viator coach Jason Raymond impressed.
"They (Marian Central) were scrappy. They were getting on the ground for loose balls," Raymond said. "We appreciate teams that play hard and it's what we like to do, so it was good to see."
Junior forward Abby Todd paced the Hurricanes with an 11-point, 9-rebound performance drawing praise from her coach, Ephraim Lee.
"She's a great player and great leader," Lee said. "She's someone who cares about the sport and she's extremely competitive as well and her teammates feed off her competitiveness especially as a junior being able to lead our team and be vocal when she needs to be vocal."
Todd, who battled injuries last year as a sophomore, turned over praise to her teammates for staying in the fight.
"Honestly, I'm really proud of us today for coming out in the second half and continuing to fight," she said. "Just really proud of us for continuing to drive to the basket and play tough."