Jan. 25, 2008

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POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - In front of a capacity crowd of 3,200 at the McCann Center, the Marist women's basketball team moved to 8-0 in the MAAC with a 78-48 win over Siena Friday night. The sell-out is the first in Marist women's basketball history. Junior guard Julianne Viani (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) led all scorers with 18 points, going 4-for-6 from behind the three-point line.

"I think they [Marist] were so pumped that the student body was there that it energized them. I think once they got the butterflies out, they did a tremendous job at both ends of the floor", said Marist head coach Brian Giorgis on the way his team played in front of the sellout crowd.

Rachele Fitz (Seven Hills, Ohio) scored in double-figures for the nineteenth straight game, putting in 14 points with five boards and three blocks. Freshman Élise Caron (Quebec, Canada) came off the bench to score 10 points and had a game-high four steals. The Marist defense held the Saints to 29.5% shooting from the field and 16.7% from the three-point line.

Marist led the entire game, but Siena kept it close early. A Heather Stec jumper would get the Saints within one, 5-4, with 16:24 to go in the first half. This would be as close as Siena would get all night. The Red Foxes pulled away with a 22-4 run over the next 8:12 to take a commanding 27-8 lead. In this stretch, Marist hit 5-of-6 three-pointers as Viani, Caron, and Nikki Flores (Montvale, N.J.) each connected from distance for the Red Foxes. Marist ended the first half ahead 42-22, shooting 54.5% from the field and making 8-of-11 three-pointers.

The Red Foxes' hot shooting from three would continue in the second half. After missing their first attempt of the half, Viani, Erica Allenspach (Miamisburg, Ohio), Sarah Smrdel (Mentor, Ohio), and Lynzee Johnson (Bellbrook, Ohio) all connected from three to give Marist a 60-34 lead with 13:24 to go in the game. The lead would get to 30 on a Johnson layup to put the score 65-35 with 11:50 to go, and would get as high as 33 at one point. A Brittany Engle (South Easton, Mass.) jumper would seal the scoring for the Red Foxes, giving them a 78-48 victory.

Marist shot 44.6% from the field on the night and made a season-high 12 three-pointers. The Red Foxes held a 39-36 rebounding edge and forced 17 turnovers. The big advantage was in bench scoring, as the Red Fox reserves outscored Siena's 26-16. Marist's defense came up big as well as they held Laura Menty, the MAAC's leading scorer, to only 11 points.

Menty was the only Saint to score in double-figures Friday night. Heather Stec scored nine points and had a team-high six rebounds. Shondaya Burrell had eight points and five rebounds for Siena, who moved to 3-5 in the MAAC with the loss.

The Red Foxes continue their current homestand Sunday at Noon against Loyola. Sunday's game will be televised by the MAAC television network and will be shown locally on MSG. Single-game and group tickets are available online at GoRedFoxes.com and at the Marist Ticket Office. For ticket information, call the Marist Ticket Office at (845) 575-3553.