Girls basketball: Marian Central routs Rockford Guilford for 21st victory

WOODSTOCK – Marian Central senior forward Lucy Iden poked the ball away from Rockford Guilford with 1:40 remaining and threw in a layup as the Hurricanes’ bench erupted in loud cheers.

Marian started and finished Saturday’s nonconference game with the same drive, leading to a 52-16 runaway victory against the Vikings at Landers Pavilion.

“That’s been a really big focus of ours. Start strong and finish strong,” said Iden, one of the Hurricanes’ senior captains. “We’re having a lot of fun and that’s been the big fueler for us. We love to be at the gym all the time.”

Marian (21-4) became the area’s first team to reach 20 wins on Wednesday and have eyes on another memorable finish after setting the program record with 25 wins last season. The Hurricanes only losses this season are to Cary-Grove, Bishop McNamara, Orangeville and Boylan, who were a combined 79-19 entering play on Saturday.

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Marian Central’s Madison Kenyon works under the hoop against Rockford Guilford’s Nadia Barbour in varsity girls basketball Saturday at Landers Pavilion on the campus of Marian Central High School in Woodstock. (Patrick Kunzer for Shaw Local/Patrick Kunzer for Shaw Local)

“Ever since coming out of that Boylan tournament, the girls have been really getting after if defensively,” second-year coach Lee Brown said. “Just mainly, we’ve been focused on our energy and defense, trying to get stops and get out and run.

“They’re just having fun playing basketball.”

In Saturday’s game, the Hurricanes finished the final 2:51 of the first quarter on a 13-0 run. Junior guard Juliette Huff, who had a game-high 16 points, hit two 3s in the first quarter, while Marian attacked the basket and got to the foul line nine times.

Adriana Wrzos (eight points) knocked down a 3 on the Hurricanes’ first shot of the second quarter, followed by a steal from Madison Kenyon (nine points, 10 rebounds) that led to a layup from Huff.

Marian took a 30-11 lead into the break and allowed only five points in the second half to the Vikings (15-11), who shot 13.2% from the field (5 of 38) and turned the ball over 24 times. The Hurricanes, meanwhile, shot 44.2% (19 of 43).

“We’re having a lot of fun and that’s been the big fueler for us. We love to be at the gym all the time.”

—  Lucy Iden, Marian Central senior forward

Guilford coach Michael Jamerson, whose Vikings beat Boylan and Harlem in back-to-back days before Saturday’s game, came away impressed with the Hurricanes’ physicality.

“We’ve got to get tougher,” Jamerson said. “I’ve watched [Marian]. My daughter was at Rockford Lutheran, so I watched their program and followed their program. A lot of good players come through here. I like playing them. They’re really tough and disciplined.”

Senior guard Ella Notaro scored 13 points, including eight in the third quarter, along with three steals and three assists.

She believes her team’s success all starts on the defensive end. Almost every time the Hurricanes grabbed a defensive rebound, they looked to push the pace.

”We get so much energy from defense,” Notaro said. “We’re pretty aggressive. Along with that, we have a great team going right now. We support each other and want the best for each other, so we’re trying to swing the ball around as much as we can.”

Kenyon, Huff and Notaro are all averaging double digits in scoring for the Hurricanes.

Huff has really found her shot lately, including a 28-point game and another where she made six 3-pointers in a row.

“We’ve always had confidence in her and we’ve always known what she is capable of,” Brown said. “We’ve been able to get her in the starting lineup and get her some more minutes, and she’s starting to see her shot fall. She’s always been a great 3-point shooter.”

Marian is a No. 2 seed in the first ever Chicagoland Christian Conference Tournament, which starts Tuesday with Marian hosting Chicago Christian at 7 p.m. The Hurricanes will get a second home game Thursday, and the final day of the tournament Saturday will be hosted at Chicago Christian.

The Hurricanes could potentially see top-seeded Bishop McNamara in the title game. In the teams’ only meeting on Dec. 7, Marian lost a close game 46-40.

The Hurricanes believe they are a stronger team since then.

“I think we’re capable of anything we put our minds to,” Huff said. “Our chemistry grows every day.”