Feb. 12, 2010
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POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - The Marist women's basketball team beat visiting Rider 84-39 in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game Friday night at the McCann Center. Wearing pink uniforms as part of the WBCA Pink Zone game, the Red Foxes led wire-to-wire, picking up their 14th straight win over the Broncs. Marist had three players in double figures, led by junior Erica Allenspach (Miamisburg, Ohio) with 14 points.
Allenspach was 4-for-8 from the field to go with a game-high four steals. Sophomore Rachele Fitz (Seven Hills, Ohio) had 11 points along with eight rebounds.
Marist (19-6, 11-2 MAAC) got off to a fast start, opening the game with a 9-0 run that included a three-pointer by sophomore Kristine Best (Commack, N.Y.) and four free throws from Fitz. Rider (3-21, 1-12 MAAC) closed to within 11-7 at the 15:23 mark before the Red Foxes went on a 13-0 run over the next 6:09 to extend their lead to 24-7. Marist took a 43-16 lead into the break after closing the half with a 19-5 run over the final seven minutes.
Despite not shooting well in the first half, Marist managed to take a 27-point lead into halftime due in large part to its defense.
"I thought we came out very focused," Marist coach Brian Giorgis said. "To have a lead at the half and not shoot the ball well just speaks volumes about what we did in other aspects of the game."
The Red Foxes pulled further away in the second half, outscoring Rider 41-23 and leading by as many as 45. Marist turned to its bench down the stretch, which outscored Rider's 27-3 in the second half and 41-8 overall. In fact, the 41 points by the Red Foxes' bench was more than Rider's entire team scored in the game. Gang's 13 led all bench scorers.
"I felt really confident," Gang said about her effort. "I've just got to stay confident and shoot the ball how I know how to."
Giorgis was pleased with how everyone on his team contributed in the win.
"This was a great, great team effort," Giorgis said. "A lot of people played very, very well. It was good to see everyone get some minutes and let show that they can play."
Every player on Marist's roster recorded at least one point.
For the game, Marist shot 40.0% (24-60) from the field and 37.5% (9-24) from 3-point range while holding Rider to just 23.2% (13-56) and 14.3% (3-21) respectively. For the Red Foxes, who came into the game leading the MAAC in scoring defense, allowing just 56.0 points per game, it was the ninth time in 13 conference games that they held an opponent under 60 points.
The Red Foxes, who rank fourth in the nation in free-throw shooting at 80%, held a huge edge at the line, shooting 81.8% (27-33) to the Broncs' 62.5% (10-16).
"It was nice to see that we go to the free throw line," Giorgis said. "In our two losses this year, we haven't gotten to the free throw line. Kids got to the basket, got fouled, and made those free throws."
Prior to the game, the Marist Athletics Department gave away pink t-shirts designed by Fitz, a fashion major, as part of the WBCA Pink Zone promotion. A ceremony was held at halftime recognizing breast cancer survivors from the area.
Marist returns to the court next Monday, Feb. 15 to take on Manhattan. The tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. For ticket information, contact the Marist Ticket Office at 845-575-3553.
