Mother Nature was able to slow down Marian. MaST II had no chance.

Friday’s snow pushed back the Fillies’ PIAA Class 2A State Tournament opener by one day.

It turned out it was just delaying the inevitable.

Marian flexed it’s muscles early and often on it’s way to a 76-9 mercy rule rout of the Voyagers on Saturday afternoon.

“They were a hard team to find a lot of information on,” said Marian coach Damian Fritz. “We didn’t have much on their personnel, but we did see some of their scores and their record.

“So we talked to our girls about focusing on what we do and executing offensively and defensively. We wanted to respect the game of basketball. That meant preparing hard and playing hard.”

Marian did exactly that from the opening tap.

The Fillies scored the game’s first 24 points. Then after a MaST II basket to open the second quarter, Marian ran off 25 straight points to build a 49-2 halftime lead.

“We didn’t know a lot about them, but we did know that we have to be on the top of our game every time we take the court from here on out,” said the Fillies’ Kerrigan Digris. “One bad game can end your season.

“So we wanted to come out and play at an extremely high level. I thought we did that. This was a great team win. Everyone played, and everyone played well. It was a great way to start the state tournament.”

Digris led Marian with 17 points, including a trio of three-pointers. She was one of eight Fillies who had six or more points in a game where reserves saw more minutes than starters.

“I was really happy with our body language today,” said Fritz. “Everyone on the court, everyone on the bench … lots of smiling, lots of happy faces, everyone cheering each other on.

“It’s a long season, and it’s really important from a team standpoint to make sure everyone has bought in and knows their role. We tried to keep our last two practices fun and light, and full of positive energy. I thought that helped us, because everyone seemed ready to play today.”

Marian, the District 11 champion, will now face District 2 champ Montrose on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Holy Redeemer High School in Wilkes Barre.

“We’ve talked about some of the expectations that people outside the program have for us - and it’s fair,” said Fritz. “We returned all five starters from a team that won a district title and played in the state tournament last year. When you combine that with the success we’ve had so far this year, it’s understandable why expectations are high.

“But our focus all season long has been to keep getting better every time we get on the court. We’ve stressed taking it one game at a time, and staying in the moment. Because if you look too far ahead, that’s when you get yourself in trouble.”

RECORDS ... Marian improves to 25-2. MaST II - the District 12 runner-up - finishes the season 8-8.

CHIPPING IN … In addition to Digris’ strong offensive game, the Fillies got 12 points from Addison Fritz, and eight points apiece from Fatikha Tikhtova and Ashley Pleban.

NUMBERS … Marian held a 38–20 advantage on the boards. Tikhtova, Gianna Corrado and Olivia Thomas all had six rebounds for the Fillies. Marian forced 26 MaST II turnovers - 20 of them in the first half.

PRE-GAME … With the PIAA now awarding first-round home games to the teams on the top line of the bracket, Marian got to play one more time on its home court. The Fillies’ pre-game introductions at home are special - more NBA than PIAA. From the gym going dark, to the student section providing the only lighting with their cellphones, to the individual handshake each starter has, to the nicknames of the players blaring over the PA system as they are introduced, to the music blasting throughout the gym, the show is one of the best you’ll see at a high school game.

MAST II

Ehman 0-0-0-0, Foster 1-0-2-2, Charlton 1-0-0-2, Rosado 1-0-0-2, Bolds 1-1-4-3, Tanio 0-0-2-0, Ramos 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 4-1-8-9.

MARIAN

A. Tikhtova 3-0-0-7, Lombardo 0-0-0-0, Perez 1-0-0-3, Fritz 5-2-4-12, Minchhoff 1-0-0-3, Zimmerman 0-0-0-0, F. Tikhtova 4-0-0-8, Pleban 3-1-2-8, Thomas 3-0-0-6, Martinelli 3-0-0-6, Cryder 0-0-0-0, Katner 0-0-0-0, Corrado 3-0-1-6, Digris 7-0-0-17. TOTALS: 33-3-7-76.

MaST II 0 2 2 5 - 9

Marian 24 25 14 13 - 76

Three-pointers: MaST II: None; Marian - Digris 3, A. Tikhtova 1, Perez 1. Minchhoff 1, Pleban 1.