Dec. 7, 2007

Final Stats

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - The Marist women's basketball team opened MAAC play Friday night with an 81-55 win over Iona at the McCann Center. The 81 points is the most the Red Foxes have scored this season. Sophomore Rachele Fitz (Seven Hills, Ohio) led all players with 22 points.

Senior Meg Dahlman (Spencerport, N.Y.) added 18 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Nikki Flores (Montvale N.J.) scored 15 points, going three for five from behind the three-point line, with five rebounds and a game-high six assists. Marist, as a team, had a season-high 25 assists on the night.

Iona scored the first basket of the game on a Tiara Headen jumper 17 seconds into the game, and that would be the Gaels only lead of the game. Marist promptly went on a 15-0 run, sparked by a Fitz jumper and capped off with a Julianne Viani (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) three-point play with 16:34 to go in the first half. The lead would get up to 18 as Flores and Dahlman would make back-to-back threes to put Marist ahead 28-10 with 9:31 to go in the half. Marist's largest lead of the first half was 22, as a Lynzee Johnson (Bellbrook, Ohio) jumper put the Red Foxes ahead 43-21. Thazina Cook would score the last basket of the half to make the score 43-23.

The Red Foxes would establish their dominance in the paint in the second half, scoring 10 of their first 14 points of the half in the lane, taking a 57-40 lead with 12:41 to go in the game. After a Headen jumper got Iona within 15, Marist would go on a 20-2 run over the next 8:53 to take their largest lead, 78-44, with 3:48 to go. An Alexis Waters (Lansing, Mich.) three capped the run, the Red Foxes' longest of the game. Marist ended the game, winning 81-55.

Marist (9-1. 1-0 MAAC) shot 47.8% from the field and 38.9% from behind the three-point line. Iona shot 38.2% in the game. The Red Foxes held a decided rebounding edge, 42-31, and converted 16 offensive rebounds into 11 second-chance points. Marist forced 23 Iona turnovers, committing 17.

Iona (2-5, 0-1 MAAC) was led by Thazina Cook with 13 points, with Tiara Headed adding 12 points and five rebounds. Anna McLean led the Gaels with eight rebounds as Lauren DeFalco had a team-high four assists.

The Red Foxes go on the road Sunday afternoon to take on Fairfield. Tipoff is at 1 p.m.