Jan. 10, 2011
Box Score
BALTIMORE, MD. - The Marist women's basketball game won its ninth straight game with a 59-43 victory over Loyola in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) game at Reitz Arena on Monday afternoon. Three Red Foxes reached double figures led by junior forward Erica Allenspach (Miamisburg, Ohio) added 14 points, while junior guard Corielle Yarde (Reading, Pa.) scored 13 in the game.
Gang added five rebounds and Allenspach dished out four assists and collected two steals. Senior Élise Caron (Quebec, Canada) notched three assists and tied for the team lead in rebounds with six. She led the Red Foxes with three steals. Junior Kristine Best (Commack, N.Y.) also had six boards.
Loyola's Katie Sheahin scored the first basket of the game to give the Greyhounds a 2-0 lead. Marist responded with an 8-0 run over a span of 2:16 to claim an 8-2 advantage with 16:52 to play in the period. During the spurt, sophomore Kate Oliver (Sydney, Australia) hit a layup and Gang nailed triples on consecutive possessions to cap the run.
With the score tied at 12 apiece with 10:25 to play in the frame, the Red Foxes held Loyola without a point for the next 7:29. The strong defensive effort by Marist sparked an 11-0 run during the stretch to grow the lead to as many as 13, 25-12. In the run, Allenspach shot 4-for-4 from the free throw line and Yarde completed a conventional three-point play for her only points of the frame.
At the half, Marist held a 27-18 lead. It was the third straight game that Marist allowed fewer than 20 points in the opening period.
The Red Foxes opened the second half on a 7-0 run that began at the 18:20 mark and was capped with 16:38 remaining in regulation. Caron began the run with a layup and Yarde followed up with a three-pointer. Allenspach capped the run with a layup off a Greyhounds turnover.
Loyola got the deficit to as few as eight on two occasions in the final 4:26 of the game, but a right wing three-pointer by Gang gave Marist an 11-point advantage, 50-39, with 2:15 to play. In the final 88 seconds of the game, Caron made seven of eight free throws to secure the ninth straight Marist victory and fourth in a row to start conference play.
In the game, the Red Foxes shot 15-for-17 from the free throw line and individually Caron went 7-for-8 and Allenspach made all six of her attempts. Marist won the battle of the boards, 41-40, but Loyola did manage 17 offensive rebounds. The Red Foxes had 10 second chance points in the game off of eight offensive rebounds.
Marist improved to 13-2 overall and 4-0 in MAAC play; Loyola fell to 6-9 overall and 3-1 in conference contests.
The Red Foxes continue their four-game road trip on Friday, Jan. 14 at Canisius. Marist will play its second consecutive morning game, and tip-off in Buffalo is slated for 11 a.m. at the Koessler Athletic Center.
Notes: For the third straight game, the Red Foxes held their opponent under 20 points in the first half... Marist leads the all-time series with Loyola 26-12... The Red Foxes have defeated the Greyhounds in the last eight meetings... Marist is 11-7 against Loyola when the teams meet in Baltimore... The Red Foxes are 4-0 in road games this year... Brandy Gang led Marist in scoring for the second time this season and first time since Nov. 13 when she scored a career-high 19 against Grambling... She scored 15 points on Monday.
