Feb. 11, 2007
Final Stats
LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. - For the fourth consecutive season, the Marist women's basketball team has clinched at least a share of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regular-season championship. The Red Foxes defeated Siena 68-47 on Sunday at the Alumni Recreation Center to extend their winning to 12 and improve to 21-4 overall and 14-0 in conference play.
Freshman forward Rachele Fitz (Seven Hills, Ohio) led all scorers with 21, with all of her points coming in the second half. Fitz shot 6-for-7 from the field and 9-for-9 from the free-throw line. Red-shirt junior center Meg Dahlman (Spencerport, N.Y.) had her third double-double of the season, recording 16 points and 10 rebounds. Dahlman, who tied a season high with her rebounding total, shot 7-for-10 from the field, hit the only three-pointer she took and was only 1-for-1 from the line. She is 28-for-38 from the field in her last five games.
Red-shirt sophomore guard Julianne Viani (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) set a career high with six steals. Senior point guard Nina Vecchio for first place on Marist's all-time list.
A jump shot by Siena's Heather Stec gave Siena a 4-3 lead with 17:24 left in the first half, and the Saints jumped out to a four-point lead at 17-13 with a basket by Liga Alpe-Luka with 9:23 left in the first half. The Red Foxes answered with a 9-0 run, holding the Saints scoreless for the next 5:17 lead. With 5:56 left in the first half, a three-pointer by senior guard Shannon Minter (Ossining, N.Y.) gave Marist a 20-17 edge, and the Red Foxes never surrendered the lead after that.
The Red Foxes held a 27-21 lead at the half, and began the second half on a 13-2 run - with Fitz scoring six points in that span - to expand their lead to 15. When the Red Foxes had a scoreless drought of 4:23 shortly after, the Saints cut Marist's lead to eight, but would come no closer. Fitz's final two points with 1:44 left gave Marist its largest lead of the game at 24. Marist outscored Siena 41-26 in the second half.
Marist shot 59.1 percent from the field in the second half (13-for-22) and 43.8 percent from the game (21-for-48). The Red Foxes also shot 91.7 percent from the free-throw line (22-for-24). Siena shot 32.7 percent from the field, hitting 18 of its 55 field-goal attempts.
The Red Foxes will return to action on Friday, when they travel to Baltimore to take on Loyola at 7 p.m. With one more victory, Marist will clinch a first-place finish in the MAAC, which will guarantee the Red Foxes a berth in postseason play.
