Jan. 21, 2007
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POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - Red-shirt junior center Meg Dahlman (Spencerport, N.Y.) led four Marist scorers in double digits with 15 points as the Red Foxes posted a 70-49 home victory over Iona in a battle between two teams which entered the day undefeated in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play. Marist won its sixth consecutive game to improve to 15-4 overall and 8-0 in the MAAC, while Iona fell to 12-7 overall and 7-1 in conference play.
This is the first time in program history the Red Foxes have opened a conference season with eight consecutive victories. Marist won its 20th consecutive home game against a MAAC opponent and 18th straight at the McCann Center overall.
Freshman forward Rachele Fitz (Seven Hills, Ohio) finished with 11 points and a game-high nine rebounds, falling just one rebound short of what would have been her third straight double-double. Nine of Fitz's points came in the second half. Red-shirt junior guard Julianne Viani (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) added 11 and four assists, going 5-for-6 from the free-throw line. Eight of Viani's points came in the second half. Junior guard Nikki Flores (Montvale, N.J.) finished with 10 and five rebounds. Senior point guard Alisa Kresge (Holmdel, N.J.) scored six points, tied her season high with seven rebounds, dished out seven assists and had zero turnovers. In the last two seasons against Iona, Kresge has 20 assists and just two turnovers.
Iona scored the first six points of the game, but Marist answered with a jumper by Flores to cut it to 6-2 at the 15:55 mark. Thirty-two seconds later, Flores was fouled shooting a three-pointer, and hit all three free throws to cut the Iona lead to 6-5. With 13:32 left in the first half, a three-pointer by Dahlman put the Red Foxes in the lead to stay.
With the Red Foxes leading 14-11, freshman forward Lynzee Johnson (Xenia, Ohio) scored eight consecutive Marist points in the span of 1:41 as Marist expanded its lead to nine. In that stretch, Johnson hit two three-pointers - the first time Johnson has hit two three-pointers in a game in her career.
Iona cut the Marist lead to 24-22 on two free throws by Jessica Anger, but Marist closed the half on a 7-0 in the final 2:57 to take a nine-point lead to the intermission. The Red Foxes expanded their lead to double digits when Viani hit three-pointers on the first two Marist possessions of the second half.
Two free throws by Iona's Martina Weber cut the Marist advantage to 53-44 with 7:39 remaining. From there, the Red Foxes closed the game on a 17-5 run.
Marist, which is ranked first in NCAA Division I women's basketball in turnovers per game, turned the ball over just seven times in the contest. Two of the turnovers occurred on the Red Foxes' first four possessions. Marist held Iona to 34.7 percent shooting from the field (17-for-49) and 12.5 percent shooting from three-point range (1-for-8).
Marist held Alumnae Day festivities prior to and during the game. An Alumnae Game was held prior to the Iona-Marist contest, and the returning alumnae were honored at halftime. The Marist women's basketball 1,000-point banner, consisting of 13 players, was unveiled, and the program honored the late Lynne Griffin, who is the school's all-time steals leader.
Marist will return to action on Friday, when the Red Foxes host Siena at 5 p.m. at the McCann Center as part of a doubleheader with the men's team. Season, single-game and group tickets are on sale now at GoRedFoxes.com and the McCann Center ticket office. Other ticket inquiries may be directed to 845-575-3553.
