CHICAGO - Marian University women's basketball (1-14, 1-9 NACC) rode a fast start to defeat Illinois Tech 70-55 for their first victory of the season.

The opening quarter saw the Sabres dominate jumping out to a 24-7 lead after 10 minutes of action.  Marian was able to open the quarter with an 11-2 run before closing the quarter with 12 unanswered points.

A 7-3 run late in the second quarter then allowed Marian to close out the quarter with a 16-14 advantage adn take a 40-21 lead into halftime.

Senior Rachel Serchen had a big opening half for the Sabres scoring 16 points off of 5-6 (.833) shooting including 3-4 (.750) from three-point land.

The Scarlet Hawks were able to battle back and outscore the Sabres by five points in the third quarter, but Marian was able to hold off an IIT comeback by outscoring the Scarlet Hawks 18-17.

Serchen closed out the game with a team-high 18 points, while freshman Paris Harris posted her second double-double of the season with 12 points and 13 rebounds.  Junior Carley Wilson came off of the bench to chip in 14 points.  Senior Sarah Schultz filled her stat line with seven points, nine rebounds, four assists, and a pair of steals.

The Sabres had their best shooting performance of the season going 23-64 (.359) from the field.

Marian returns home to take on Wisconsin Lutheran Saturday, January 12 for a 2 p.m. tip.