By Mike Buchanan

There’s a lot of mercy going around.  At least there was in the Cincinnati Christmas Tournament.

Mercy of Maryland from the IAAM got past Mercy of New York in the semi-finals, but lost to Mercy of Ohio in the finals, finishing with two wins and one loss in the tournament.

In the opening round, Coach Mary Ella Marion’s team defeated McAuley (OH), 41-30. Senior PG Khadija Mitchell led the way with 15 points, followed by sophomore Ava Trageser with nine. Mercy led 20-14 at the half and held the opponents at bay in the second half.

According to Marion, "This Cincy trip was the second Mercy basketball tourney, just like the first one in San Francisco. There were 10 teams this year - two from Ohio, two from New York, one from Georgia, one from Kentucky, one from Nebraska, one from Rhode Island, one from San Francisco, and our team from Maryland. Coaches talked at the closing banquet about making it an every other year commitment."

On to the next round, and it was Mercy versus Mercy, Maryland versus New York. This game proved to be a bit easier, as the Magic cruised to a 56-24 win.  Mercy (MD) led by 12 at the break, 22-10, but poured it on in the final half en-route to the 32-point win over Our Lady of Mercy.

As usual, Marion’s squad had balanced scoring, with just one player in double figures. Senior F DanielleAbell scored 10, while senior F Jess Zikorus added nine and sophomore G Carissa Shropshire had eight.

In the finals, it was another Mercy-Mercy battle, this time Maryland versus Ohio.

The Ohio Mother of Mercy Bobcats (9-1) came away victorious with a 51-38 victory.

Mother of Mercy had a slim 22-18 lead at the half, but used a 7-0 run in the third quarter to pull away.

“We were very sluggish in the first game after a long lay-off. We picked up the intensity in the second game, and then faced the No. 5 team in the Cincinnati area in the finals and we just turned the ball over too much. Plus, we play with a shot clock at home and they do not out there. We had difficulty with it. They ran a patient offense and slowed it to a pace we were not used to,” said Marion.

Mercy of MD did not have anyone in double figures. Zikorus led the way with eight points, and Mary Stefanski had seven.

Mercy is now 10-2 on the season. The Magic, 5-1 in the league, return to A-Conference play on Friday, hosting St. Paul’s. The Gators lost to St. Frances by just 11 points last week, so it should be an interesting game. After that, Marion will find out where her team fits in the pecking order of the IAAM, facing two tough games at Archbishop Spalding and then at home versus McDonogh.

Side trips to the Kentucky aquarium and to Bengals' Stadium with a tour from Marvin Lewis (his daughter is a Mercy alum) made for an interesting trip. Marion would have liked three wins, as well, but will have to settle for two.

Mercy 41, HS McAuley (OH) 30 
M - Mitchell 15, McKay 2, Matthews 1, Shropshire 4, Zikorus 4, Stefanski 2, Abell 2, Trageser 9, Kane 2. Totals: 15 8-10 41. 
McA - Blanck 2, Schroeder 8, Kling 6, Watson 2, Wood 2, Wheeler 3, Englehart 3, Schmitt 2, Gerrety 2. Totals: 12 3-8 30.
Half: M, 20-14.
 
Mercy 56, OUR LADY OF MERCY (NY)  24
M (NY) - LeGuelaff 6, DeRespiris 4, Testaverde 2, Flood  2, Lehmuller 1, Walsh  4, McCarthy 2, Grima 3. Totals: 10 4-9  24. 
M - Mitchell 5, McKay 2, Matthews 5, Shropshire 8, Zikorus 9, Stefanski 2, Marion 6, Abell 10, Trageser 7, Kane 2. Totals: 20 5-28 56.
Half: M, 22-10.
 
Mother of Mercy (OH) 51, Mercy 38 
M - Mitchell 5, McKay 5,  Shropshire 1, Zikorus 8, Stefanski 7, Marion 4, Abell 2, Trageser 6. Totals: 15 6-10 38. 
M (OH) - Brunsman 4, Green 2, Ballman 9, Odenbeck 6, O'Brien 9, Kees 3, Giese14, Collins 2. Totals: 17 15-20 51. 
Half:  M (OH), 22-18.