BALTIMORE — It’s the game Mercy High School has been looking forward to ever since the calendar flipped - the big one against rival Maryvale.
"Usually in December we’re worried about our conference games and once it hits January we’re like, ‘Alright, we’re ready for the Classic’," said senior guard Olivia Liszt.
‘The Classic’ is the clash between the Magic and Lions. The second-annual event, happening Friday night inside Towson University's SECU Arena, is dubbed the largest girls sporting event in Maryland. Last year it drew over 3,500 fans who watched Mercy beat Maryvale 62-40.
‘The Classic’ replaced the ‘The Game’, which was played between Mercy and The Institute of Notre Dame for 54 years before I.N.D. shut down in 2020.
"It’s just a really big tradition that we have coming from the I.N.D. tradition to the Maryvale tradition. [It’s] the same excitement for our school. We’re ready to compete," said Liszt.
"I know me and all my teammates are going to be very nervous just seeing all those people out there and it gets really loud in there. So, it should be exciting," added senior forward McKenna Carroll.
Mercy has a 10-7 record playing in its first season in the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland’s ‘A’ Conference after a ‘B’ Conference championship in 2022.
"It’s been challenging for us, especially moving up from ‘B’ Conference to ‘A’ Conference, playing against faster and bigger girls," said Carroll. "But, all together we’ve been trying to stick together as a team and just still playing hard every time we go out on the court."
They are doing it all with a new head coach. Former assistant coach George Panageotou took over for Mary Ella Marion after the Mercy coaching legend retired following nearly 40 years and 411 wins.
"I was fortunate to coach with her for four years so I was fortunate to learn how it works around here," he said. "Seeing her preparation and attention to detail, that taught me a lot."
His advice to his players in 'The Classic':
"Enjoy the moment. We’re going to be nervous at the beginning. But, get through the butterflies and then we’ll go out there and play some good basketball."
Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
Follow Shawn Stepner on Twitter @StepnerWMAR and Facebook
