Feb. 23, 2006

Final Stats |  Quotes

Poughkeepsie, N.Y. - Three players scoring 20+ points for Marist proved the difference maker tonight at the Red Foxes (20-6/15-2 MAAC) downed the Stags of Fairfield (10-16/7-10 MAAC), 82-54 at the McCann Center. The win matched Marist's largest point total of the season and gave the Foxes sole possession of their third consecutive MAAC Regular Season title. The victory also ensured Marist of its third consecutive 20+ win season.

Fairfield kicked off the game on a 7-2 run, but that was the only lead the visitors would hold for the rest of the game. Marist rattled off eight straight points including back-to-back threes by freshman Julianne Viani (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.). Fairfield finally managed to stop an 18-2 Marist run with a Clare Faurote jumper at 12:47 to take it to 20-10.

Sophomore forward Sarah Smrdel (Mentor, Ohio) came off the bench and hit two consecutive jumpers to get the Red Foxes back on track. Marist led 30-12 at 8:22 after a Meg Dahlman (Spencerport, N.Y.) lay-up and never looked back. The Red Foxes poured it on offensively to take a 45-25 lead at the break.

The Stags came out of the locker room strong, scoring four straight points, but Marist would soon return to the scoring column. The Red Foxes went on a series of mini-runs, including a 7-2 spurt to go up 63-40 at 9:53. Marist built a 31-point lead after back-to-back threes from Dahlman and Viani, up 77-46 at 5:13. The Stags could not cut the deficit much more and Marist held out to win 82-54.

Viani and Fifi Camara (Conakry, Guinea) led all scorers with 21 points. Viani's 21 points proved a career-high and she scored them on 7-10 shooting, 5-8 from three. Dahlman tallied 20 points and a game-high eight rebounds along with three blocks while Alisa Kresge (Holmdel, N.J.) matched her career-best with 12 assists and just one turnover. Smrdel rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points, marking the fifth time this season that Marist has had four players in double figures and 15th time with more than three.

Sabra Wrice led Fairfield with 14 points, seven rebounds and four steals. She was joined in double-figures by Baendu Lowenthal and Cara Murphy, with 11 points each.

The Foxes shot 47.5% from the field to Fairfield's 40%, posting 14 turnovers to the Stags' 20.

Marist closes out the regular season with a trip to Rider on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. The team will play in the MAAC Tournament Semifinal on Saturday March 4 at 12:00 p.m.