Jan. 16, 2006
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Poughkeepsie, N.Y. -
The Marist women's basketball team earned a gritty victory over MAAC foe Loyola, 65-56 at the McCann Center this evening. The Red Foxes were just shy of having four players in double-figures, but nonetheless, a balanced effort led the squad to its 11th consecutive victory. With the win, the first place Marist team moved to 11-4/6-0 MAAC while Loyola dropped to 8-7/3-3 MAAC. The Red Foxes boast the fifth longest winning-streak in the NCAA with 11 in a row.
Senior forward Fifi Camara (Conakry, Guinea) scored a game-high 23 points and has now scored 20 or more points in five of six league games.
The game got off to a close start, with the teams trading buckets and leads before a 6-0 run capped by Alisa Kresge's (Holmdel, N.J.) first three of the night gave Marist a 16-10 lead at 12:03. Loyola would never tie or lead again in the contest. The Greyhounds had an answer for each of the Red Foxes' buckets, and pulled within two, 25-23 at 4:16 after a conventional three-point play by Brittany Dunn. Marist would then go on an 11-4 run to close the half, with nine of the points coming from a dominant Camara. After shooting 44% for the half to Loyola's 43.5%, the Foxes took a 36-27 advantage into the locker room.
Meg Dahlman (Spencerport, N.Y.) nailed a pair of free-throws to open the half, but Loyola's Lauren Troupe responded with a three-pointer to take the score to 38-30, Marist at 19:27. The Red Foxes went up by as much as 45-34 at 13:07 before Jackie Valderas hit another three for the Greyhounds, to cut Marist's lead to eight, 45-37. Sarah Smrdel (Mentor, Ohio) converted a three-point play to get the Red Foxes' lead back up to double-digits and start an 8-0 Marist run.
That was all the Red Foxes would need, as they took their largest lead of the game, 60-42, at 6:34 off a Fifi Camara jumper. The Greyhounds would not back down, outscoring the Foxes 11-5 in the closing minutes of the contest. Loyola was 5-5 from the line in the last two minutes of the game to cut the final to 65-56, Marist.
Camara led all scorers with 23 points while going a perfect 9-9 from the free-throw line and adding four rebounds. Dahlman was Marist's high-rebounder with seven and also added 14 points and two blocks. Kresge tallied a career-high nine points on 3-5 shooting from three-point range while Smrdel contributed nine points and four rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench. Six points on 2-2 shooting from downtown by Nikki Flores (Montvale, N.J.) helped Marist's bench outscore Loyola's, 15-13.
Lauren Troupe got the job done for Loyola with 16 points and eight boards while Krystle Harrington added 10 points.
The Red Foxes are back in action on Friday when they host Siena at 4:30 p.m. at the McCann Center. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU and is Marist's first nationally televised game since its 2004 NCAA tournament tilt with Oklahoma. The Marist men will play Fairfield, also on ESPNU, following the women's game.
