Girls Basketball: Edwardsville Slows Pace, Ousts Marist in 4A Supersectional

Marist was unable to get its running game going in a 48-41 loss to Edwardsville on Monday night at the Class 4A Illinois Wesleyan Supersectional.

Marist Girls Basketball Sports a Mighty Cast of Super Heroes

JeTaun Rouse and Leah Bolton continue to lead the way for the RedHawks, but don't discount the contributions from a supporting cast that has Marist streaking toward Monday's Illinois Wesleyan Supersectional.

Marist boasts the high school girls basketball version of Batman and Robin. JeTaun Rouse and Leah Bolton lead the RedHawks’ fight for all that’s good with their explosive moves on the offensive end and their quick hands on defense. But don’t forget about the supporting cast of caped crusaders that have backed them up every step of the way during a storybook season. Marist (32-1) picked up contributions up-and-down a loaded roster in a 52-32 victory over Lincoln-Way East on Thursday night in the championship game of the Class 4A Sandburg Sectional. Senior forward Asia Bey grabbed nine of her 10 rebounds in the first half when the RedHawks crashed the boards to generate second-chance points. Junior guard Claire Ryan accepted the challenge of…

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Girls Basketball: Rouse, Marist Put the Hurt on L-W East in Sectional Final

Marist 52, Lincoln-Way East 32: JeTaun Rouse scored 10 of her game-high 17 points in the fourth quarter as the RedHawks won their first sectional title since 2008.

The Skinny: Marist’s JeTaun Rouse played with a sore knee. She delivered a performance that left Lincoln-Way East feeling the pain of what might have been in a 52-32 RedHawk victory in the championship game of the Class 4A Sandburg Sectional. Rouse scored 10 of her game-high 17 points in the fourth quarter on Thursday night as the RedHawks won their first sectional title since 2008. She poured in seven straight points in a personal highlight reel-like surge that included a 3-pointer from just in front of the Marist student body and two straight steals that she turned into layups. The RedHawks used a 1-3-1 defense to prevent Lincoln-Way East from penetrating the lane and crashed the boards on offense to generate second-chance points. Patch’…

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Ron Kremer

1:58 pm on Friday, February 24, 2012

No question, Marist has a very athletic group. Is there a way to slow the RedHawks down? Or are they destined to play for the Class 4A state championship? What do you think?   more ›

For Ryan Out Loud, She's the Secret Weapon in Marist Girls Basketball

Junior guard Claire Ryan often is overshadowed by her teammates, but she continues to make big contributions for the undefeated Marist girls basketball team.

At Marist, Claire Ryan’s contributions to the girls basketball team are easy to overlook or take for granted. She is a 5-foot-11 junior guard on a RedHawks team that is 17-0, features a big front line and a number of explosive players, chief among them Leah Bolton and JeTaun Rouse. Bolton and Rouse tend to score the lion’s share of the points for Marist. Ryan leads the RedHawks in only one category—floor burns. She showcased her tenacious style of play in rallying Marist to a 58-53 victory over rival Mother McAuley before a near-capacity crowd on Monday night at Marist. She scored seven of her 11 points in the third quarter as the RedHawks used a 19-2 scoring run to overturn a five-point halftime deficit. She made 3-of-5 shots during the …

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Marist Handles Marian in Girls Basketball Rivalry Game

In what Marist coach Mary Pat Connoly called an 'odd' game, the RedHawks finished strong to seal their 47-43 victory over Marian Catholic on Monday night.

When the Marist RedHawks and the Marian Catholic Spartans take the court in girls basketball, it's a good bet you can throw the records out. The rivalry between the two squads is always fierce. On Monday in Chicago Heights, the two teams dueled to the final buzzer. At the end, though, it was Marist's low-post presence that sealed the game for a 47-43 RedHawks victory. “We're glad we won; we survived,” Marist coach Mary Pat Connolly said. “We're big conference rivals, we're big South Side rivals, so it's going to be an 'odd' game. The whole game is going to be odd because of the rivalry. If it was somebody else, the game would've ran smoother … They gave us a good run.” As for the RedHawks effort in the low post, it came as no surprise to …

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Girls Basketball: Marist's Motion-Activated Teamwork Leaves Foes Breathless

RedHawks' undefeated start is a product of the players' familiarity with one another and a willingness to keep the ball moving.

Watch Marist’s girls basketball team during warm-ups, and a couple of things stand out almost immediately. The drills involve more passing than most teams use, and rarely do you see any players standing around. There’s almost no dribbling, either. And that’s exactly how the RedHawks play: lots of passing, great ball movement and a transition game that few teams in the state can rival. “Our goal is to always keep running, keep the fast breaks, keep the defense on their heels,” senior Randyll Butler said. “Having played with these girls for so long, it’s pretty easy to know what we like and what we do.” Marist remained undefeated on the season with a 67-33 victory over Lockport on Monday night. The RedHawks had 16 assists on 18 buckets in …

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Girls Basketball: Marian Catholic Surges Past Marist for L-W North Sectional Title

Marian Catholic 57, Marist 42. Foul trouble plagues the Spartans, but team depth helps finish off the Redhawks.

The Hot Read: Marian Catholic standout Simone Law picked up her third foul just six seconds into the second half and didn't convert a field goal after halftime. But Marist couldn’t take full advantage in Thursday night’s Class 4A Lincoln-Way North Sectional final. Marist trailed 24-18 at halftime but couldn’t get any closer than 24-20 in the second half. Marist's Randyll Butler split a pair of free throws with 1:50 left in the third quarter to make it a 35-30 contest, but Marian closed the quarter with a 7-0 run to take an impressive 42-30 lead into the final quarter en route to a 57-42 victory. Patch's MVP: Marian Catholic's Jasmine Matthews scored 14 points, but just as important was her leadership in the third quarter when starters …

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Analysis: Sectional Title on Line as Marist, Marian Gird for Rematch

After suffering a December setback to the Spartans, the RedHawks feel like they're ready to turn the tables.

Marist and Marian Catholic are two teams that possess high-powered offenses and skilled defenses. Both have excellent forwards who can shoot from the outside and put the ball on the floor and drive to the basket. The pretense for Thursday night's girls basketball sectional championship matchup at Lincoln-Way North has all the hallmarks of a classic. Simone Law leads the way for the Spartans. At 6-0, the senior forward and D-I recruit (Loyola) will be matched in the post by Marist's 6-1 junior center Asiana Bey. The Spartans are coming off a 72-58 victory over Homewood-Flossmoor. The RedHawks defeated Lincoln-Way East 52-38. When the teams met back in December, it was the Spartans winning by a count of 67-58. The two are long-time rivals …

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Girls Basketball: Marist Subdues L-Way East Attack

Marist 55, L-W East 38. RedHawks use dominant rebounding to cinch sectional semifinal win over Griffins.

The Hot Read: Marist defense was dominant in a 55-38 girls basketball victory over Lincoln-Way East in the Class 4A Lincoln-Way North Sectional on Monday night. The RedHawks held the Griffins to no field goals over a span of a quarter and a half, outscoring East 24-5 in that stretch. The Marist scoring spurt silenced a decidedly Griffin-friendly crowd. The RedHawk defense forced 16 turnovers and controlled the boards all night. Patch’s MVP: Marist's Asiana Bey finished with 16 points, eight rebounds and four blocks. Key Stats:  The Griffins may have been 17-of-25 from the freethrow line, but just 10-of-45 from the floor. The Redhawks pulled down 38 rebounds, 19 of which came on the offensive end. Marist also went 5-of-12 from the three-…

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Extra Points: Marist's Bey Determined to Get Job Done

RedHawks' junior Asiana Bey puts in the work on offense and defense to help Marist advance in Class 4A Shepard Regional.

Marist junior center Asiana Bey said she knew the RedHawks' matchup vs. Shepard on Wednesday night carried a do-or-die type feeling with it--and she wasn't about to let her season end. "I just wanted to come out really strong because I didn't want this to be our last game," Bey said after Marist defeated Shepard 62-24 in a semifinal game at the Class 4A Shepard Regional. "Coach (Mary Pat) Connelly told us all week that we couldn't be nice to teams because this is playoff time. So, I  just kept that in mind." Bey lead the Redhawks with 13 points and four rebounds. She said she focused her her attention on getting to the net as well as guarding it. "I just kept thinking to score and play defense as best as I can," Bey said. "I just want to …

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