Jan. 24, 2010
Box Score | Press Conference
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - The Marist women's basketball team withstood a late rally from the Loyola Greyhounds Sunday afternoon at the McCann Center, hanging on for a 63-60 win. The Red Foxes have now won 12 games in a row and are a perfect 8-0 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Senior forward Rachele Fitz (Seven Hills, Ohio) led Marist with 18 points and 11 rebounds for her third double-double of the season.
Fitz was 7-of-12 from the field and 4-for-7 at the free throw line. She also had three assists. Erica Allenspach (Miamisburg, Ohio) and Brandy Gang (Hartville, Ohio) each had nine points. Allenspach added eight rebounds and a game-high two blocks.
The two teams traded baskets early, with a Fitz jumper giving Marist (16-4, 8-0 MAAC) a 5-4 lead with 16:43 left in the first half. Loyola (9-10, 4-4 MAAC) responded with baskets by Erica DiClemente and Meredith Tolley to take an 8-5 lead five minutes into the game. The Red Foxes took the lead back with layups by Gang and Fitz, going ahead 9-8 with 10:10 left in the half. Marist grew the lead to three, 13-10, on a pair of Gang free throws at the 7:55 mark. After a pair of DiClemente free throws made the score 13-12, Yarde made her second three-pointer of the game to put Marist ahead 16-12 with 7:20 to go in the first.
The Red Foxes took their largest lead of the first half with 5:09 to go, as a Fitz three-point play put Marist up by five 21-16. Loyola then cut the lead to two on a Katie Sheahin three-pointer, making the score 21-19 with 4:44 to go in the half. The Greyhounds eventually tied the game at 23-23 with 1:43 left in the half, getting a Kaitlin Grant basket and a pair of DiClemente foul shots. Marist broke the tie with 1:03 to go in the half, as Yarde setup Fitz for a layup in the lane to make the score 25-23. The Red Foxes took a 26-23 lead into halftime as Allenspach split a pair of free throws with 28 seconds remaining in the half.
Marist opened the second half on a 6-2 run as baskets by Allenspach and Yarde put the Red Foxes ahead 32-25 with 17:08 to go in the game. A Miriam McKenzie three-pointer sparked a 6-0 run for the Greyhounds which got them within one, 32-31, with 15:02 to go. With the score 34-33 with 14:18 to go, Marist went on a 7-0 run highlighted by a Lynzee Johnson (Bellbrook, Ohio) three-point play and a Gang triple to take a 41-33 lead with 11:25 to go. The Greyhounds then got baskets from Grant and McKenzie to get within four, 41-37, with 9:51 to go.
Fitz then scored Marist's next four points to get the lead back up to eight, 45-37, with 8:17 remaining in the game. After a Grant layup put Loyola within six 46-40 with 7:06 to go, a Yarde jumper sparked a 7-0 run for the Red Foxes, giving them a 53-40 lead with 5:16 to go in the game. Marist took its largest lead of the game with 3:14 to go, as a pair of Élise Caron (Quebec, Canada) free throws put the Red Foxes ahead 58-44.
Loyola cut the lead to 10, 62-52, with 1:47 to go on a McKenzie three-pointer. DiClemente then made four straight free throws to make the deficit six, 62-56, with 1:02 left. McKenzie then got a steal on Marist's next possession and was fouled. Her two free throws made the score 62-58 with 27 seconds left. After Kristine Best (Commack, N.Y.) split a pair of free throws to put Marist up five, 63-58, DiClemente made a jumper with 17 seconds left to make the score 63-60. The Red Foxes had a chance to put the Greyhounds away, but missed both free throws with 16 seconds left to give Loyola a chance to force overtime. McKenzie took the final shot for Loyola and missed it wide left to give Marist the win.
Marist shot 35.1% from the field in the game, making 45.8% of its shots in the second half. Loyola shot 31.7% from the field and made 16-of-17 free throws. The Red Foxes outrebounded the Greyhounds 45-40, with Loyola forcing 13 Marist turnovers while committing only 11. McKenzie led all scorers with 20 points and added eight rebounds and six assists. DiClemente had 19 points and nine rebounds.
The Red Foxes will travel to western New York for games against Canisius and Niagara next weekend. Marist will take on the Golden Griffins on Friday, Jan. 29 at 4:30 p.m. The game will be telecast on ESPNU.
