March 8, 2008
Final Stats |
Photo Gallery 
ALBANY, N.Y. - The Marist women's basketball team won their program-record 30th game of the season on Saturday afternoon at the Times Union Center, and in the process advanced to their fifth-straight MAAC title game. The Red Foxes defeated fifth-seeded Saint Peter's 78-67 to reach the final where they will take on Iona, who defeated Fairfield 74-69 in the first semifinal. Marist's previous high for wins in a season is 29, set last season when the Red Foxes reached the NCAA Sweet Sixteen.
Sophomore forward Rachele Fitz (Seven Hills, Ohio) led all players with her eleventh double-double of the season, scoring 18 points with 12 rebounds. Nikki Flores (Montvale, N.J.) followed up her 13-point performance on Friday with 14 on Saturday, as Julianne Viani (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) scored 12 points. Senior Sarah Smrdel (Mentor, Ohio) gave Marist a big lift off the bench for the second straight game, scoring 10 points with five rebounds and a career high five blocks.
Marist held Saint Peter's without a field goal for the first 2:38 of the game, taking a 5-2 lead behind a Meg Dahlman (Spencerport, N.Y.) triple and Fitz layup. Lauma Reke answered the Peahens' first three-pointer to tie the game at 5-5 with 16:22 to go in the half. Flores would hit a three to break the tie with 15:56 to go, but Saint Peter's came right back with baskets from Reke and Charlene Riddick to take a 9-8 lead with 14:40 to go. The Red Foxes would answer with the first considerable run of the games, as a Smrdel three-point play and Élise Caron (Quebec, Canada) triple sparked an 8-2 run to give Marist a 16-11 lead.
Saint Peter's would close to within one at the 10:42 mark when a Natasha Morris jumper made the score 21-20. Dahlman answered with her second three-pointer of the half to put Marist back up four, 24-20. The lead would grow to seven, as an Erica Allenspach (Miamisburg, Ohio) jumper put Marist ahead 31-24 with 5:24 to go in the half. Viani would give the Red Foxes their largest lead of the half, when her layup in the lane put Marist ahead 35-26 with 3:56 to go. Saint Peter's ended the half with a 9-4 run to close within four, 39-34, at the half.
Just as they did against Canisius, the Marist defense shut down Saint Peter's in the second half, holding the Peahens to 8-of-37 from the field shooting 21.6%. The Red Foxes earned their first double-digit lead in the game when Lynzee Johnson (Bellbrook, Ohio) hit a corner three to put Marist ahead 51-39 with 13:43 to go in the game. The lead would stay double-digits for much of the second half as Marist went 25-for-33 from the free throw line in the period, making their first nine.
Marist (30-2) shot 43.2% from the field in the game, including a 54.2% mark in the first half. The Red Foxes also shot 50% from beyond the three-point arc and 77.3% from the free throw line. For the 12th time in 14 games Marist outrebounded their opponent, holding a 42-32 advantage on the glass over the Peahens. Saint Peter's (19-12) shot 33.3% from the field and forced 20 Marist turnovers. Lauma Reke led the Peahens with 16 points, with Johnell Burts scoring 14 and Alena Ali scoring 13.
The Red Foxes will play in their fifth-straight MAAC Championship game on Sunday against Iona at 11 a.m. This marks the third straight year that the two teams meet in the MAAC tournament and the second straight season they meet in the Championship game. The game will be broadcast on WKIP 1450 AM in Poughkeepsie and telecast on FSN New York. Marist will be providing bus transportation from campus to the Times Union Center for tomorrow's championship game. The bus will leave Marist at 8:30 a.m. Sunday morning. Those interested should signup by going to the MAAC Championship Fan Headquarters, located on the main page of GoRedFoxes.com by Saturday night.
