LISLE, Ill. – Marian University women’s basketball (6-12, 4-5 NACC) had a one-point lead after three quarters but fell to Benedictine 76-71.
- Marian opened the game with a slim 16-13 lead in the first quarter before Benedictine scored 10 unanswered to lead 23-16.
- A late basket from sophomore Chelsea King put the score at 23-18 after 10 minutes.
- The Sabres rallied in a defensive second quarter and retook the lead at 24-23.
- Benedictine once again had a strong finish to the quarter, however, going on a 16-5 run to lead 39-29.
- Sophomore Kiara Williams would hit a shot just before the buzzer to put the Sabres down 39-31 at halftime.
- The Eagles found themselves ahead 45-35 before Marian scored nine unanswered to only trail one with 4:35 left in the third.
- The Sabres would tie the game twice but Benedictine still lead 53-51.
- This time it was Marian with a strong finish scoring the final three points over the last 2:15 of the quarter to go into the fourth leading 54-53.
- The third quarter tally saw the Sabres outscore Benedictine 76-71.
- Marian built its lead to as large as six twice and had a 67-61 advantage with 3:56 to play.
- Benedictine then made a move scoring 14 unanswered points to take a 75-67 lead with 37 seconds left.
- The Sabres were able to trim that deficit down to as small as four but couldn’t complete the comeback.
- Marian shot 29-of-64 (.453) in the defeat and went 4-of-21 (.190) on three-pointers.
- The Eagles finished 27-of-72 (.375) and 11-of-29 (.379) from beyond the arc.
- Marian held a significant 44-30 edge in the paint.
- This is the first time Marian was defeated after taking a lead into the fourth quarter this season.
- Benedictine has now won the last 17 match-ups against Marian.
