Jan. 30, 2009
Box Score
Press Conference
Highlights
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - Junior forward Rachele Fitz (Seven Hills, Ohio) only scored six points Friday night but in doing so passed Ursula Winter as Marist's all-time leading scorer as the Red Foxes defeated Manhattan 70-44 at the McCann Center. Fitz and Winter were tied atop Marist's career scoring record with 1,587 points and Fitz's six points now give her 1,593 for her career. Marist participated in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's "Pink Zone" initiative Friday night and wore special pink jerseys for the game.
Senior guard Julianne Viani (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) led all players with 23 points, making 8-of-10 shots from the field including five three-pointers. She also had five assists. Brandy Gang (Hartville, Ohio) had nine points off the bench and Corielle Yarde (Leesport, Pa.) had eight points and five rebounds. Every Marist player who got into the game scored at least three points.
Marist (19-2, 10-1 MAAC) opened the game on fire, taking a 22-2 lead 9:01 into the game. Viani opened the scoring with a three-pointer at the 18:57 mark and scored eight points in the opening run. Gang added five points as Erica Allenspach (Miamisburg, Ohio), Lynzee Johnson (Bellbrook, Ohio), and Emily Stallings (Newburgh, N.Y.) had baskets as well. Manhattan responded with an 11-2 run over the next 7:26 with a Lindsey Loutsenhizer layup making the score 24-13 with 4:33 to go in the half. The Red Foxes ended the half on a 9-4 run, as a Stallings baseline jumper put Marist ahead 33-17 at the half.
The 2,606 in attendance at the McCann Center would have to wait until the second half to see Fitz's history-making basket. Fitz picked up two fouls in the first two minutes of the game and sat the rest of the first half. With 17:42 to go in the game, Allenspach fed Fitz the ball on the block and the junior turned and banked in a jumper for career points 1,588 and 1,589 and a 37-24 lead for the Red Foxes. Marist grew the lead to 26 at the 7:58 mark of the second half on an Élise Caron (Quebec, Canada) three-pointer. The lead got as high as 32 when Yarde knocked down a three with 3:28 to go.
The Red Foxes shot 41% from the field and 45.5% from the three-point line. Manhattan (6-15, 3-7 MAAC) shot only 26.6% from the field. Marist outrebounded the Lady Jaspers by seven, 47-40, and forced 17 Manhattan turnovers. Loutsenhizer led Manhattan with nine points as Abby Wentworth and Nicole Harrison each had seven points.
The WBCA's "Pink Zone" initiative is a global, unified effort for the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's (WBCA) nation of coaches to assist in raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond. The Marist Athletics Department raised $1,881 from raffles and donations to benefit the Miles of Hope Breast Cancer Foundation. The Miles of Hope Breast Cancer Foundation is a non-profit, public charity established in March of 2003 to fund support services for people fighting breast cancer in the Hudson Valley.
Marist will be on the road on Sunday, February 1 to take on Iona. Tip-off at the Hynes Athletic Center is set for 2 p.m.
