Dec. 22, 2007
Final Stats
ALBANY, N.Y. - The Marist women's basketball team returned to their winning ways Saturday afternoon, defeating Albany 75-71 at SEFCU Arena. Sophomore forward Rachele Fitz (Seven Hills, Ohio) led all players with 28 points, tying a career high. She was 10-10 from the free-throw line and also had a game-high 11 rebounds.
Junior guard Julianne Viani (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) scored a season-high 21 points, going 8-for-9 at the charity stripe. Nikki Flores (Montvale, N.J.) also scored in double-figures for Marist, tallying 16 points and pulling down five boards.
The Red Foxes and Great Danes kept it close in the first half. Marist would take control off the tap, scoring the first five points and taking an early 10-5 lead. Albany would get within one, 12-11, on a Kristin Higy three-pointer with 16:36 to go in the half. Fitz would score Marist's next seven points to put the Red Foxes ahead 20-13. The Great Danes would go on the first big run of the day, scoring 13 of the next 15 points to take a 26-22 lead. Marist would answer back with a Viani triple and a Fitz basket to take the lead 27-26 with 8:52 to go in the half. Albany would then take control, with a Janea Aiken basket giving them a 34-29 lead. Once again, a Viani three-pointer would spark a comeback, as that coupled with a Flores jumper tied the game at 34-34. The game would be tied again at 37-37 with 1:07 to go as Albany's Tanika Thrower fouled Viani on a three-point shot. The junior guard drained all three free throws to give Marist a 40-37 halftime lead.
The Red Foxes would open the second half on a 10-4 run, capped off by a Fitz basket, to give the visitors a 50-43 lead. The lead would grow to 12 on a four-point play by Sarah Smrdel (Mentor, Ohio), putting Marist ahead 58-46 with 11:03 to go. Albany would chip away at the Marist lead as a Britney McGee three capped a 9-2 Great Danes run and put Albany within three, 60-57. After a pair of Fitz free-throws gave Marist a 68-63 lead with 4:45 to go, Albany would get to within one behind two free throws from McGee and a Gia Sanders jumper to make the score 68-67 with 1:16 to go. That would be as close as the Great Danes would get, as Flores and Viani would score the last seven points for the Red Foxes to give them a 75-71 win.
Marist (11-2) shot 38.9% from the field and made a season-high 28 free throws. The Red Foxes held a 36-34 rebounding edge and forced 14 Albany turnovers. The Great Danes shot 49.2% form the field, but only went 5-for-12 from the free throw line.
Albany (1-11) was led by McGee's 17 points, with Sanders, Thrower, and Sherri Mikus each adding 10 points. Mikus and Joy Sterling each had seven rebounds to lead the Great Danes.
Marist returns to action on Sunday, December 30 with a 2 p.m. game at Akron.
