Feb. 23, 2007
Final Stats
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. - Junior guard Courtney Kolesar (Concord, Ohio) hit a key three-pointer to break a tied game late in the second half, helping propel the Marist women's basketball team to a 59-51 win over Iona at the Hynes Athletics Center on Friday. The Red Foxes earned their 23rd victory of the season, tying a program record set last season for wins in a season, Marist is now 23-5 overall and 16-1 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
With the scored tied at 43 apiece, Kolesar hit a straightaway three-pointer with 5:22 left, giving the Red Foxes the lead for good. The basket started Marist on a 10-0 run over the next 1:59, and Iona never cut the lead under seven after that. The Red Foxes put the game away by going 8-for-10 from the free-throw line in the final 3:23, as Marist shot 21-for-26 from the line for the game.
Red-shirt junior center Meg Dahlman (Spencerport, N.Y.) led all scorers with 14 points and blocked two shots. Freshman forward Rachele Fitz (Seven Hills, Ohio) added 12 points, four rebounds and three steals. Junior guard Nikki Flores (Montvale, N.J.) did not hit a shot from the field, but scored 10 points by going 10-for-10 from the line and added a career-high eight rebounds and a team-high five assists. Kolesar and junior forward Sarah Smrdel (Mentor, Ohio) added seven, and red-shirt sophomore guard Julianne Viani (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) had six points and a team-high four steals.
After a back-and-forth first nine minutes of the game, a basket by Dahlman gave Marist a 13-11 lead with 10:47 left in the first half. The basket started the Red Foxes on a 17-4 run as they jumped out to a game-high lead of 13. Marist took a 31-20 halftime lead.
With 12:01 left, Smrdel's jumper gave Marist a 39-29 edge. However, the Red Foxes did not convert a field goal over the next 6:39, allowing Iona to go on a 14-4 run to tie the game before Kolesar's three-pointer gave Marist the lead for good.
Marist shot .320 from the field (16-for-50), but shot .462 (6-for-13) from three-point range. The Red Foxes also committed just eight turnovers while forcing 20 from Iona.
Regan Pettijohn led Iona with 11 points, and Tiara Headen added 10. The Red Foxes held Martina Weber, the MAAC Preseason Player of the Year, to just nine points on 3-for-12 shooting. Weber did have a game-high nine rebounds.
Senior point guard Nina Vecchio's career record of 563.
Marist will return to action on Sunday, when the Red Foxes host Fairfield on Senior Day at 2 p.m. It will be the final game at the McCann Center for seniors Kresge, Mary Alice Duff (Havertown, Pa.), Kristin Hein (Howell, N.J.) and Shannon Minter (Ossining, N.Y.). If the Red Foxes win, they will complete their first undefeated home season in program history.
