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Marist To Open MAAC Slate At Niagara Friday Night

Women's Basketball Marist Athletics

Marist To Open MAAC Slate At Niagara Friday Night

Dec. 4, 2008

Marist-Niagara Game Notes Get Acrobat Reader

THE MATCHUP: Marist opens the 2008-09 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference season on Friday night against the Niagara Purple Eagles.

ON THE AIR: Geoff Brault and Mike Haase will call all the action from the Gallagher Center on GoRedFoxes.com starting at 7:15 p.m.

SERIES RECORD: Marist has an 11-10 series lead over Niagara, winning the last eight meetings.

LAST MEETING: In their first game as a ranked team, the Red Foxes defeated Niagara 66-51 at the McCann Center on Feb. 15, 2008. Rachele Fitz scored her 1,000th career point in the game, becoming the first sophomore in Marist history to reach that mark. She scored 20 points and had eight rebounds. Nikki Flores also scored 20 points.

LAST TIME OUT: Marist returned home to the McCann Center on Monday night and defeated Lafayette 66-55. The Red Foxes opened the game on a 16-2 run. Rachele Fitz had her second straight double-double with 34 points and 13 rebounds. Julianne Viani added 13 points and tied a career-high with nine assists. Marist dominated the lane, scoring 36 points in the paint.

FILL IT UP: Rachele Fitz scored over 30 points for the second time this season on Monday night when she scored 34 against Lafayette. Her performance ties two other players as the fifth-best single-scoring game in Marist history. She is one of two players in Marist history to score 36 points in a game, which she accomplished at Northeastern on Nov. 21. In her two 30-plus efforts this season Fitz has made 15 field goals, tying a program single-game record. She passed the 1,300 career-point plateau on Monday night. Fitz is currently leading the MAAC in scoring, averaging 24.8 points per game.

MAAC DOMINANCE: Including conference tournaments, the Red Foxes have won their last 27 games against MAAC teams. Last season, Marist became the first team to go 18-0 in the regular season since expansion in 1997. Marist has won at least a share of the regular season title in each of the last five seasons.

PAINT IT RED: The Red Foxes scored a season-high 36 points in the paint against Lafayette on Monday night. Marist has scored over 30 points in the lane four times this season. In those four games, the Red Foxes shot 50.7% from the field. For the season, Marist is averaging 29.3 points per game in the paint.

DELIGHTING IN DOUBLE-FIGURES: Rachele Fitz has scored in double-figures in 40 straight games. In 21 of those games, Fitz has scored over 20 points. During this stretch she is averaging 19.8 points per game while shooting 57.7% from the field and 86.3% from the free-throw line. In her career, Fitz has scored 20 points or more 27 times.

OWNING THE EMPIRE STATE: Marist has won its last 43 games against other Division I schools in New York. This stretch started in the 2005-06 season and is still active. The Red Foxes have also won 57 their last 58 games played in the state of New York.

PROVIDING ASSISTANCE: Senior guard Julianne Viani is currently leading the MAAC in assists, averaging 6.7 a game. She set a new career-high with nine assists against Harvard on November 23. Viani tied that mark on Monday night against Lafayette. At one point in the second half on Monday, she had an assist on four straight possessions. Viani is also having one of her better seasons scoring the basketball, averaging 15.7 points per game.

SCOUTING NIAGARA: Selected to finish tied for ninth in the MAAC in the preseason, the Purple Eagles are 1-5 on the season. Niagara's lone win came on Nov. 22 when it defeated Youngstown State 65-51. In their last game, the Purple Eagles fell at home to Binghamton 83-65 on Monday. Liz Flooks, a member of last season's All-Rookie Team, led Niagara with 14 points and added seven rebounds. Jennifer McNamee, a Third-Team All-MAAC selection in the preseason, added 13 points. McNamee is the only Purple Eagle to average over 10 points a game, averaging 13.0 points per contest. Kristina Walton leads Niagara in rebounding, averaging 5.3 boards per game.

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Players Mentioned

Nikki Flores

#22 Nikki Flores

Guard
5' 4"
Senior
Rachele Fitz

#12 Rachele Fitz

Forward
6' 0"
Junior
Julianne Viani

#3 Julianne Viani

Guard
5' 7"
Redshirt Senior

Players Mentioned

Nikki Flores

#22 Nikki Flores

5' 4"
Senior
Guard
Rachele Fitz

#12 Rachele Fitz

6' 0"
Junior
Forward
Julianne Viani

#3 Julianne Viani

5' 7"
Redshirt Senior
Guard

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