Jan. 11, 2009
Box Score
BALTIMORE, MD. - The #25 Marist women's basketball team shot an even 50% from the field on Sunday afternoon, defeating Loyola 86-44 at Reitz Arena. The win is the Red Foxes' 12th straight. Junior forward Rachele Fitz (Seven Hills, Ohio) led all players with 26 points and added eight rebounds.
Fitz was 12-of-16 from the field and made all three of her free throws. Julianne Viani (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) added 15 points and four assists with no turnovers. Brandy Gang (Hartville, Ohio) made 5-of-7 shots from the field, including two three-pointers, to score 14 points and also had four rebounds and a career-high four assists. Corielle Yarde (Leesport, Pa.) added 12 points, five assists, and a career-high eight rebounds.
The two teams traded baskets early in the game, with Loyola taking a 5-4 lead on a Meredith Tolley three-pointer with 17:23 left in the opening half. Maria Laterza gave the lead back to the Red Foxes with a layup with 17:05 left in the half, making the score 6-5. Marist then went on a 23-3 run, getting threes from Erica Allenspach (Miamisburg, Ohio) and Gang as well as baskets from Fitz, Viani, and Yarde to go ahead 29-8 with 8:11 left in the first half.
The Red Foxes held Loyola without a field goal for 8:16 during the run. The Greyhounds went on an 8-3 run sparked by an Ashley Alexander transition layup to get within 16, 32-16, with 6:10 left in the half. Marist ended the half on a 17-7 run, highlighted by a Yarde three-point play and a Courtney Kolesar three-pointer (Concord, Ohio) to take a 49-23 halftime lead.
Marist kept up its hot shooting in the second half, shooting 45.5% from the field in the first 6:13 of the half to take a 61-29 lead. Fitz and Viani combined for the Red Foxes' 14 points in the second half. The Red Foxes kept pouring it on, growing the lead to 40 with 8:33 to go on a Yarde transition bucket. Marist went into an offensive lull late in the second half, going without a field goal for 5:16 before a Maria Laterza (Brooklyn, N.Y.) basket made the score 82-42 with 2:21 to go.
Marist made 34-of-68 shots from the field and held Loyola to 28.6% from the field. The Greyhounds shot only 9.1% from the three point line as Marist shot 42.9% from distance. The Red Foxes outrebounded the Greyhounds 42-36. They also scored 26 points off of 18 Loyola turnovers.
The Red Foxes return to the McCann Center on Friday, January 16 to take on Saint Peter's at 7:30 p.m.
