Reminder that you can actually play as Maria in Shadow the Hedgehog via 2 player, and she's as fast as Shadow, so this may not be as even a match as you'd think… dying for plot excluded.

Fun Fact: In the 2012 game Rhythm Thief & the Emperor's Treasure, also made by Sega, there's a character called Marie, or Maria in the Japanese version. She is also a kind-hearted, fair-skinned blonde girl who wears a light blue skirt.

It's probably a big coincidence, but maybe it was an intentional reference.