OLEAN, N.Y. - Brandy Gang (Hartville, Ohio) scored a team-high 18 points, on 8-14 shooting, as the Marist women's basketball team shot 42% as a team, but it was not enough as they lost to a good St. Bonaventure team 67-56 Sunday afternoon.
Corielly Yarde (Reading, Pa.) was the only other Red Fox in double figures, scoring 12 points and adding five rebounds and a team-high six assists. Leanne Ockenden (Syracuse, N.Y.) had eight points and Kelsey Beynnon (Burlington, Vt.) contributed seven points, four rebounds and a career-high three assists while coming off the bench. Sophomore Casey Dulin (Milford, Conn.) made the first start of her career and had five points. Marist had seven blocks as a team as Yarde, Gang and Emily Stallings (Newburgh, N.Y.) each had two.
The game started off poorly for Marist (4-4) as they missed their first 10 shots, not making a basket until a Gang layup put the Red Foxes on the board with 11:50 left to play in the first half. In that time, the Bonnies (10-1) had built an 11-point lead.
Marist hit their next three shots, going on a 9-2 run to get themselves back in the game. Gang drained a three-pointer, Ockenden made a layup and Stallings hit a mid-range jumper to close the score to 13-9 with 10:03 left in the first half.
After St. Bonaventure held the Red Foxes scoreless for the next five minutes, Yarde hit a three-pointer that started an 18-10 run that closed out the half with Marist coming all the way back to have a 27-26 lead. Gang had five consecutive points on another trey and a jumper . Kristina Danella (Manalapan, N.J.) hit two free throws and a short jump shot in the paint that gave the Red Foxes their first lead at 21-20. After the Bonnies' Jessica Jenkins hit her fourth three-pointer of the half, Dulin scored on a layin and Gang had four more points to go into the break.
Gang was 6-9 shooting in the half to lead all scorers with 14 points. Danella had five rebounds and Ockenden had grabbed four to lead all players.
The second half started out with back-and-fourth action. The Red Foxes kept coming back to tie the score, but could not jump ahead. With St. Bonaventure leading 48-42, Yarde and Ockenden hit three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to even the score again. The Bonnies responded however, with a 7-0 run over the next 2:47 to take a 55-48 lead with 5:10 left to play.
A Beynnon three and a three-point play by Ockenden closed the deficit to four at 58-54, but that is as close as Marist could get the rest of the way. St. Bonaventure tightened their defense and only allowed a Yarde layup over the final 4:23 to pull away for the win.
The Red Foxes conclude their four game road swing as they travel to Long Island to participate in the New York Life Holiday Invitational, presented by Hofstra. Marist will play Auburn of the SEC Wednesday, Dec. 21 at 2:30. They will they play either Hofstra or CCSU on Thursday. The team will return to McCann Arena after the holiday when they host Kansas State on Dec. 29 at 7 p.m.
