It has to be for good reason when a rivalry gets dubbed “The Classic.” On Friday night, Maryvale Prep and Mercy certainly lived up to the history and the prestige of a game with roots that trace back to 1964.
In front of a raucous crowd at Towson University’s TU Arena, the fierce rivals went shot-for-shot, blow-for-blow, until Cayden Reese had the last word in a 45-44 Lions win.
Rhian O’Connor led the Lions with 18 points, including eight in the third quarter. Maddie Moran scored eight points while Reese added seven, including the game-winner with less than 10 seconds left.
“The Classic” replaced Mercy’s longstanding series against the now-defunct Institute of Notre Dame, which was titled “The Game” and became the state’s biggest girls basketball game in its 54 years.
“For our girls to come into this environment and to show up and play our game, it was amazing to see,” Maryvale coach Telia Marks said. “We have some great athletes and it was great to see them work together and come away with the victory.”
Magic guard Milan Brown led everybody in scoring on the night, netting 31 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter. Forward Grace Mooney added 14, including a trio of fourth-quarter 3-pointers.
Maryvale took a 33-25 lead into the fourth quarter, but if the Lions were expecting the Magic to go quietly into the night, they were mistaken.
Brown narrowed the gap to 34-29 with back-to-back layups early in the frame. Maryvale freshman Maddie Moran hit a clutch shot inside the paint to keep the Magic at bay, but the charge kept coming.
The Magic’s high-pressure offense continued to cause Maryvale problems with Brown hitting a jumper with under three minutes left to level the score at 41. They took the lead shortly after when Brown found Molly Davis for a 3-pointer.
With time running out, the Lions cut the Magic lead to one with under a minute left when Moran knocked sunk a field goal. Maryvale regained possession with time running out and made the most out of their final chance. While Moran’s 3-point attempt clattered off of the rim, Reese was once again there for the clutch offensive rebound and bucket, hitting a short jumper to put the Lions ahead for good.
“It was great to see the mental toughness in the fourth quarter,” Marks said. “We talked about it in practice. We are a very young team and I told the girls that the cool thing about our team is that we are a gritty team. When you have a gritty team they are always going to look to compete. I felt like down the stretch they kept their composure and they wanted to win as a team.”
The teams came out of the gates swinging with each side pressing deep into their opponent’s lanes. Maryvale struck first with Reese connecting with O’Connor on a slick bounce pass. The sophomore forward coolly put her side ahead with a quick layup.
Despite going down early, Mercy maintained its composure with senior guard Brown leading the charge. Brown was at the center of the action on both sides, preventing O’Connor from getting clear shots at the hoop and quickly moving her teammates into an attacking posture. However, Maryvale had enough to hold a 15-6 lead after the first quarter.
The second quarter continued to go in the Lions’ favor, although Brown did all she could to keep the Magic in the game. However, while Brown was dominating the floor — she was one of only three Mercy players to score in the game — Maryvale spread out its offense and held on to a 21-19 lead at halftime.
The rivals, and especially Brown and O’Connor, continued to trade baskets throughout the third quarter. Their chances both came the hard way with each defensive unit tightly marking their opponents and closing down passing lanes quickly.
After finding their footing midway through the third quarter, the Lions started to pull away with O’Connor and Reese working together to open up the Magic defense. Using their speed on and off ball, the two combined to score 12 points in the third quarter, giving Maryvale the lead going into the final frame.
Maryvale Prep 45, Mercy 44
Maryvale: O’Connor-18, Reese-9, Moran-8,N. McCormick-4, C. McCormick-2, Deluca-2, Przywara-2
Mercy: Brown-31, Mooney-11, Lackner 2
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