Girls Basketball: Marist rolls past Oak Park

Updated: November 25, 2011 5:12PM

Marist rolled to its fifth consecutive win to open the season with a 72-40 victory over Oak Park-River Forest Friday.

For Marist, a slow start Saturday lasted about three minutes.

The No. 6 RedHawks traded baskets with Oak Park-River Forest early on, but then it didn’t take long for Marist to go on a pair of deciding runs in a 72-40 rout Saturday afternoon in the first of two games at the third annual Marist Thanksgiving Classic.

The RedHawks (5-0) will play Homewood-Flossmoor later Saturday to decide the tournament title. OPRF (0-5) will play T.F. North to determine fifth place in the six-team tournament.

“We came out a little flat at first,” Marist coach Mary Pat Connelly said. “We found our groove after that. We had to focus more on the defensive end of the floor.”

The RedHawks turned an 11-10 lead with 4:59 remaining in the first quarter into a rout with a 13-3 run that expanded into a 22-6 run. The Huskies (0-5), who were the co-champions in the West Suburban Silver last season, have not allowed less than 53 points to an opponent this season.

Marist’s Leah Bolton scored 15 of her game-high 18 points in the first half while Claire Ryan added 10 points and Randyll Butler added nine.

Caroline Kelty scored all 10 of her points in the first half to lead OPRF. Illinois State-bound Stekara Hall (eight points, six rebounds) shot 2-of-8 at the free-throw line.

OPRF went 6:13 without a field goal midway through the game. Cuya Hall’s 10-foot baseline jumper ended the drought, but the RedHawks led 51-25 after the basket.

“We’re not at that level [with Marist]. We play hard. We’re trying to get there. It’s a jump. We play well, but we have not put it together,” OPRF assistant coach J.P Coughlin said. Coughlin subbed for coach Bob Biggins, who missed the game due to work-related duties with his full-time job.

The Huskies started last season with a 2-7 record before winning three in a row. OPRF starts conference place at home against York (4-1) on Tuesday.

“We need to start working as a team,” said Kelty, a junior. “We’ll come along next week. [Slow starts] are usually common for us. We have a good team, I think.”

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