Feb. 25, 2005

Final Stats

Poughkeepsie, NY - Marist captain Kristin Keller (Poughkeepsie, NY) went out with a bang on senior night, picking up a double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds in her final game at the McCann Center. Keller's third consecutive 20+ point performance led the Red Foxes to their 20th win of the season and 14th with an 80-61 victory over St. Peter's. Fellow senior Megan Vetter (Havertown, PA) and junior Kristen Vilardi (Fishkill, NY) were a combined 7-11 from three-point range, scoring 13 and 14 points respectively to fuel the Marist attack. With the win, Marist tied the school record for most consecutive basketball wins (men and women), matching the mark set by the men's team in 1986-87.

St. Peter's got off to a quick start, taking a 5-2 lead off a Tiffany Jones three and the teams traded buckets on the next two possessions. Senior guard Laura Whitney (Southhampton, PA) tied the game at 7-7 before Fifi Camara (Conakry, Guinea) gave Marist a 9-7 (at 14:50) lead that they would never relinquish. Following a Johnell Burts three, Marist went on a 9-0 run with buckets from four different players to take a 20-10 lead at 11:27. The Peahens stopped the bleeding with a jumper by Khalisha Lewis and five different players would score for them in the closing minutes of the half. Vilardi and Keller fueled the Red Foxes during that time as Marist had an answer for everything St. Peter's put up, eventually taking a 34-23 lead into the locker room.

Elina Kalnina opened up the second half with two made free throws for St. Peter's but Marist answered with back-to-back threes from Vilardi and Vetter. Four straight points from Keller and another Vilardi trey gave the Red Foxes a 48-33 lead at 16:25 and they never looked back. Each time the Peahens would make an athletic layup, Marist would answer with a three and the Foxes went up by as many as 20 points with 11:08 left in the game. Tyonna Vance fueled a 7-0 run by St. Peter's to pull the Hens within 13, 56-43, but sophomore Alisa Kresge (Holmdel, NJ) and Keller combined for nine points in the next two minutes to keep the Red Foxes ahead 65-49.

Marist continued to pour it on offensively, outscoring the Peahens 15-7 in the closing minutes to garner the team's highest point total of the season at 80. Every Marist player saw action in tonight's contest and the Red Foxes' bench outscored St. Peter's 21-19. Marist shot a much improved 19-24 (79.2%) from the free throw line and went 46.4% from the field including 47.4% from behind the arc. The Red Foxes committed only nine turnovers to St. Peter's 14.

Keller led all scorers and rebounders with 22 and 11, respectively while Camara was just shy of a double-double herself with 17 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Kresge dished out 10 assists and made just two turnovers while rookie Nikki Flores (Montvale, NJ) was perfect from the free-throw line and added six points and three boards. Tonight's game marked the first time this season that Marist has had four player score in double-figures.

The Red Foxes will be back in action again on Sunday when they close out the regular season at Rider. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m. at Alumni Gymnasium.