PRINCETON, N.J. - Corielle Yarde (Reading, Pa.) had 15 points and set a career-high with nine assists, but the Marist women's basketball team fell to a tough Princeton squad 68-51 in their first road contest of the season Monday night.
Leanne Ockenden (Syracuse, N.Y.) had a season-high 11 points and Emma O'Connor (Lynbrook, N.Y.) added seven points and a career-high seven rebounds
Three-point shooting kept the Red Foxes in it in the first half. Five different players hit from behind the arc in the first half, including two from Ockenden. The Tigers matched them shot for shot however, shooting 45% from the field in the first half and constantly forcing Marist to play catch-up
Late in the first half, with Princeton ahead 32-27 and time winding down on the shot clock, Yarde drove the lane, drawing a double team. She found a wide-open Brandy Gang (Hartville, Ohio) who hit a three-pointer from the top of the key with 19 seconds remaining in the half to carry the Red Foxes into the locker room with momentum, only down two at 32-30.
Yarde led the Red Foxes at the half with seven points and three rebounds. Ockenden had two three-pointers and Gang also had six points.
The teams continued their tight play in the second half, with the Tigers holding onto a slight lead despite solid defense from the Red Foxes. After a jumper by Yarde tied the score at 38 however, Princeton went on a 10-2 run over the next 3:23 to take a 48-40 lead with 10:03 left in the game.
The deficit expanded to 12 at 55-43 with 6:59 remaining when the Red Foxes tried to mount a comeback. A three-pointer and a jumper from Yarde sandwiched a short jumper from Emily Stallings (Newburgh, N.Y.), part of a 7-2 Marist run that closed the score to within seven at 57-50.
Princeton would allow them to get no further however, as they hit several free throws in the closing minutes to ice the score. The Tigers had three players in double figures, led by Niveen Rasheed who had a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Marist heads south for the Cancun Challenge in Cancun, Mexico where they will play Drake on Thursday at 7:30 and South Dakota State on Friday at 6:30. The Red Foxes' next home game will be on Dec. 1 when Hartford pays a visit to McCann Arena.
