There’s chemistry at Maryknoll.

That’s good news for the Spartans, who got 19 points from Crystie Wong and eight assists from Cianna Ochoco in a 46-38 win over St. Francis on Friday night at Clarence T.C. Ching Gymnasium.

Maegen Martin, a freshman post, added eight points, five boards and two blocks. Maryknoll improved to 4-0 in Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division II play (6-6 overall).

St. Francis dropped to 3-1 in the ILH (5-3 overall).

Their timing on everything from the halfcourt offense against St. Francis’ man-to-man defense, to quick feeds off turnovers made a big difference.

“He has a good, aggressive team,” Saints coach Indhira Lynton said of Maryknoll’s Steve Caley. “They’ve got good chemistry and that comes from playing together for a while.”

Wong scored 10 quick points during a first-quarter flurry, all but one of those five buckets on precise passes from Ochoco. The Spartans’ trapping defense and quick transition flustered the visitors for nearly the entire first half. Maryknoll’s biggest lead was 22-3 after a drive to the hoop by Ashlee DeSantos.

“We came out doing what we wanted to do, knocking down open shots, playing Maryknoll basketball,” Caley said. “But we had four ugly turnovers in the second quarter and that gave St. Francis hope.”

The Saints regrouped at the break and made a strong comeback in the third quarter. Sophomore Alissa Pacarro was scoreless in the first half, but scored seven points in a 2-minute span late in the third. Her 3-pointer from the left wing brought St. Francis within 29-23.

However, center Kalei Mau returned to the bench with foul trouble, and Maryknoll went on a run. Wong swished a 3-pointer from the corner to end a 4-minute scoring drought for the Spartans.

Free throws by Jedidah Hanakahi, Pacarro and Tori Keliiaa kept the Saints close at 34-27 midway through the fourth quarter. After Pacarro hit a bank shot off a feed from Kayla Jones, they were within five points with 4:22 left.

Ochoco then swished a 3-pointer from the corner and Athena Adora hit a foul shot as Maryknoll opened a 40-29 lead with 3:02 remaining. St. Francis got no closer than eight the rest of the way.

Pacarro finished with 16 points and six rebounds. Mau had four points and 10 boards despite foul trouble.

DeSantos had a team-high seven rebounds for Maryknoll.

The Saints, with just four seniors, can ride on the momentum of a solid second-half effort against one of the league’s best D-II squads.

“I wanted the girls to come out and be calm,” Lynton said of the Saints’ halftime talk. “There’s a lot of newcomers, kids who are new to the game.”

The Spartans looked like last season’s scrappy squad in many ways, even with the graduation of all-state guard Ashley Agcaoili.

“We’re not quite the team we were last year, but we have a chance to be better,” Caley said. “We used to go to Ashley when we needed points. Now I’ve got eight girls who can give us eight points each.”

St. Francis outrebounded Maryknoll 37-28, but shot just 23 percent from the field (12-for-53), including 3-for-22 from the 3-point arc against a tight man-to-man defense.

Maryknoll shot 37 percent from the field (20-for-54) and committed 14 turnovers to the Saints’ 17.

Both teams struggled at the foul line. Maryknoll was 3-for-12 and St. Francis was 11-for-22.