Feb. 6, 2009
Box Score |
Photo Gallery 
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - The Marist women's basketball team was ahead by one, 56-55, with 4:43 to go in the game Friday night against Canisius in front of a sellout crowd of 3,200 but could not hold onto the lead, falling 68-60 to the visiting Golden Griffins. Ellie Radke's basket with 4:25 to go sparked a 13-4 run that pushed Canisius to its first win in the last nine meetings with the Red Foxes. Junior forward Rachele Fitz (Seven Hills, Ohio) led all scorers with 21 points.
Fitz and Maria Laterza (Brooklyn, N.Y.) each had a team-high eight rebounds. Julianne Viani (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) and Brandy Gang (Hartville, Ohio) each scored nine points. Gang made 4-of-5 shots from the field. Laterza added six points.
Canisius (17-6, 9-3 MAAC) got out to an early 8-4 lead thanks to back-to-back three-pointers from Marie Warner and Brianna Lucas. Marist (20-3, 11-2 MAAC) responded with a 7-0 run, getting baskets from Laterza, Viani, and Fitz to go ahead 11-8 with 15:05 left in the first half. The Golden Griffins took back the lead on triples by Brittane Russell and Micayla Drysdale, going ahead 14-11. After Fitz hit a pair of free throws to make Canisius's lead only one point with 13:33 left in the first, the Golden Griffins went on a 10-2 run over the next 3:45 to go ahead 24-15. An Amanda Cavo three-pointer with 5:23 left in the first half gave Canisius its largest lead of the half, 29-19. Marist then went on a 7-0 run, sparked by five straight points from Gang, to get within three, 29-26, with 1:58 to go in the half. The Red Foxes, however, would go into the locker room at halftime trailing 31-27.
The Golden Griffins held their lead early in the second half, extending it to 39-33 on a Russell driving layup at the 14:45 mark. The Red Foxes then went on a 9-0 run over the next 2:46 to go ahead 42-39 with 11:59 to go. A Élise Caron (Quebec, Canada) combined for five straight points to put Marist ahead 54-52 with 6:13 to go.
Cavo took the lead right back for Canisius with her fourth three-pointer of the game, putting the Golden Griffins ahead 55-54 with 5:11 left to play. Fitz put Marist back on top with a basket at the 4:43 mark, making the score 56-55. Marist would only make one more field goal the rest of the game, as Radke's layup sparked Canisius's game-ending 13-4 run. The Red Foxes only got as close as four points in the final 4:25.
Marist shot 43.6% in the game to Canisius's 41.8%. The Golden Griffins, however, were automatic from the three-point line, making 11-of-20 attempts for 55%. Marist only made 4-of-20 threes Friday night. Canisius also held a 36-31 rebound advantage. Cavo led the Golden Griffins with 20 points, making 7-of-9 shots from the field and all four of her threes. Russell added 14 points and a game-high six assists and Warner had 13 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. The game marked the second straight season the Red Foxes had a sellout crowd for "Pack the House" night. Last season, 3,200 fans saw Marist defeat Siena 78-48 on Jan. 25, 2008.
The Red Foxes will close out their brief two-game homestand on Sunday with a 2 p.m. game against Loyola. The first 1,000 fans to the McCann Center will receive a Brian Giorgis bobblehead presented by Verizon Wireless. Fans can purchase tickets to the game on January 25 by logging on to GoRedFoxes.com, or at the McCann Center Ticket Office. For more information, please contact the Marist Ticket office at (845) 575-3553.
