Marian’s splendid sophomore forward Addy Marek kept talking about tradition.

Her fill-in coach, Jeff Onushco, kept harping the same message: deny, deny, deny.

It proved to be a winning combination for the Fillies.

Marian did more than deny. It chased Oley Valley relentlessly en route to an impressive 41-25 victory Saturday evening, allowing Marian to capture the Scott Murphy Christmas Tournament title.

“It’s all about tradition, here at Marian,” Marek kept insisting.

The sophomore, standing just under 6 feet, was relentless all game. If she wasn’t knocking down 3-pointers, she was attacking the boards with purpose. Marek finished with 15 points, but her true value came on the glass, where she hauled in 15 rebounds.

“Oh, wow,” Marek said when told about her numbers.

Even Onushco was taken aback.

“We’re going to need her to play big every night,” Onushco said. “DeAnna (Pugh), too; that’s why they call her Mighty Mouse — she’s all over the floor. She’s defending, she’s running our offense. They’re not coming out of the game often, nor will they ever.”

They are impactful, to be sure. So are several rising, untested underclassmen, led by Haley Minzola, who scored six points and grabbed six rebounds. Brooke Hannis-Miskar added five points and five boards.

Still, it was Marian’s defense that helped the Fillies turn the corner after a sluggish start to the season.

“We’ve adjusted to coach (Onushco),” Marek said. “My girls, Deana, Brooke, Haley and Katie, they’re all starting to play better. It has been an adjustment with three coaches (since last year), but right now it’s all about tradition here at Marian. We want to play defense. It’s something all of the (past) teams have done, and now it’s our turn.”

That was music to Onushco’s ears.

Playing end-to-end, Onushco admitted he pulled back the reins.

“I thought we were cooked late in the first half, that’s why I pulled back the (pressure) a little bit.”

The Fillies edged ahead 8-6 after one quarter, then built a 14-10 lead when Marek scored twice on post-up moves and Pugh drilled a corner jumper. But the Lynx responded with a 6-0 run to grab a 16-14 advantage.

Kayden Rhoades, the heart and soul of Oley Valley, scored three of her team-high 12 points during that stretch, then added a rebound and putback late to give the Lynx an 18-17 lead with 1:16 left in the half. Hannis-Miskar answered with her second 3-pointer of the half to send Marian into the break up 20-17.

“Yeah, it’s a challenge for us, but all of us as a team are bouncing back,” Marek said. “Today, I thought we were starting to come together. I was able to be more aggressive, getting rebounds.”

The turning point came after halftime, when Marian outscored the Lynx 21-7.

Pugh opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer. Marek followed with two straight treys, and Gia DeCosmo’s basket with 55 seconds left in the period lifted Marian to a 31-24 lead. Oley Valley managed just four points from Rhoades, and a field goal by Julia Wagner during the quarter.

“I’d like to have more depth,” Onushco said. “That’s why I pulled back the press.”

Once again, it came down to denying the opponent the ball. Marian’s pressure defense dominated the final eight minutes, as the Fillies did not allow a single field goal.

After Rhoades converted a foul shot for Oley Valley’s only point of the quarter, Marian seized momentum with an 8-0 run. Pugh forced a turnover with textbook help defense. Minzola rebounded a miss for a bucket, then followed with a smooth spin move in the paint to seal the victory.

“Being in help defense caused that,” Marek said of the defensive effort that held the Lynx without a field goal.

Tradition says Marian lives and dies by defense. Marek and Pugh know it well — and now it’s rubbing off on their younger teammates.

THEY HEAR IT … Onushco can’t say it enough. His voice echoes through the gym: “deny, deny, deny.” The Fillies hear it in their sleep — and so do the fans.

BRUTTO SCHOOL … “That’s the (Paul) Brutto school of coaching. It’s in me, and we will play defense and get better at it,” Onushco said of Marian’s approach.

DOING DOUBLE DUTY … Onushco is also coaching the Penn State-Hazleton Lady Nittany Lions, who are currently on Christmas break.

HOW THEY FARED … Marian shot 15-for-46 from the field, and 7-for-17 from 3-point range. Oley Valley struggled at 9-for-42. The teams were even in rebounds at 35 apiece.

A LITTLE JOCKING … Marek and Oley Valley’s Rhoades battled throughout the night, with Rhoades trying to contain Marek defensively. “She’s a good player and it was a good matchup,” Marek said, clearly enjoying the moment.

OLEY VALLEY

Rhoades 4-4-6-12, Wagner 2-2-2-6, Bauer 2-1-2-5, Meyers 1-0-0-2, Schlegel 0-0-0-0, R. DeBalko 0-0-0-0, E. DeBalko 0-0-0-0, Schell 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 9-7-10-25.

MARIAN

Marek 5 2-2-15, Pugh 3-2-2-9, Minzola 4-0-0-9, Hannis-Miskar 2-0-2-6, DeCosmo 1-0-0-2, Knock 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 15-4-6-41.

Oley Valley 6 12 6 1 - 25

Marian 8 12 11 10 - 41

Three-pointers: Oley Valley - None; Marian - Marek 3, Pugh 1, Minzola 1, Hannis-Miskar 1.

Records: Oley Valley (7-3); Marian (5-3).