Mother McAuley senior Quinn Arundel made sure she would leave high school without ever having lost to rival Marist.
Arundel is a four-year varsity starter for the Mighty Macs and has won all four of her matchups with the RedHawks.
On Jan. 30, she hit the game-winning shot in McAuley’s 53-52 road win. It came with five seconds left in overtime on an athletic drive across the lane and a scoop layup on an up-and-under play.
On her layup, she was looking for the basket on an aggressive drive.
If she got hit and had to go to the free-throw line, so be it.
“I was hoping it went in,” Arundel said. “I want to score the easiest way there. I wanted to finish it, make sure the game was sealed and get the nerves down.”
Arundel said she was proud of her team’s calm play amid the craziness.
“It’s our team mentality,” Arundel said. “We play together and try not to get down. We believe in each other.”
Junior guard Taji Alexa scored 17 points, grabbed five rebounds and had two steals for the Mighty Macs (20-5).
Arundel (four steals) and Delia Sullivan scored 13 points each.
Marist (21-7) was led by juniors Lily Porter (17 points, 11 rebounds, three steals) and Caroline Flynn (10 points) and senior Lucy Cosme (10 points, five rebounds).
Alexa loved how the Mighty Macs performed down the stretch.
“Honestly, this is indescribable,” Alexa said. “We had some big pressure moments, and we pushed through. We had confidence in each other, and we got the win.”
Alexa, a 5-10 guard, is a three-year varsity player.
After playing off the bench as a freshman, mostly as a post player, she’s stepped into a go-to scoring role as a slasher and shooter for the Macs in her sophomore and junior seasons.
Beyond her own game though, Alexa said she’s as confident as ever in her teammates.
“If I have an open 3, I’ll shoot it,” Alexa said. “I’ll take the shot. My teammates have confidence in me. They’re telling me in timeouts to shoot it. We all have confidence in each other. This is just the start.”
Alexa scored nine of her 17 in the fourth quarter as the game swung back and forth with each possession.
“It’s trying to keep everyone under control and play with composure,” Alexa said. “Sometimes, don’t even look at the score. Don’t listen to anyone (in the crowd). Just play with each other.”
Porter just missed a long 3 from the wing at the regulation buzzer for Marist. Her shot took a high bounce and rolled off the rim.
Marist had a chance to tie or win the game with two free throws with :00.5 on the clock in overtime, but missed both attempts.
Coach Renee Chimino said she loved her team’s fight in a tough losing effort.
“Every close game we’ve lost, the girls are out there battling their butts off and left everything out on the floor,” Chimino said. “It did not come down to those free throws. It was things we did throughout the game. We executed our game plan and had a chance at the end.”