Feb. 6, 2011
Box Score
BRIDGEPORT, CONN. - Junior guard Erica Allenspach (Miamisburg, Ohio) joined Yarde in double figures with 13 points on 6-for-12 shooting.
In a game which featured five ties and six lead changes, following Yarde's layup with 27.7 seconds remaining, Fairfield had two opportunities to win the game. Three-point attempts by Brittany MacFarlane and Katelyn Linney were off the mark. After Brandy Gang (Hartville, Ohio) collected the rebound, she missed the front end of a 1-and-1. Taryn Johnson threw up a desperation heave from around half court as time expired.
Marist (21-2, 12-0 MAAC) led in the opening minutes of the first half. With the score 6-5 in favor of the Red Foxes, Linney hit a triple for Fairfield to give the Stags an 8-6 lead with 11:13 to play. However, Emily Stallings (Newburgh, N.Y.) answered with a layup to level the score at eight a piece.
The Red Foxes kept the game within as little as four points and tied the score at 16 a piece with 6:11 to play in the period. Yarde and Kate Oliver (Sydney, Australia) provided the baskets for Marist.
Fairfield (15-8, 8-4 MAAC) closed the half on a 10-4 run capped by a Joelle Nawrocki three-pointer with 26 seconds to play in the half. The Nawrocki make gave Fairfield its largest lead of the stanza, an eight-point advantage, 30-22, at halftime.
The Stags grew the lead to as large as nine, 40-31, with 13:55 to play in the second half after consecutive triples by Brittany MacFarlane. The Red Foxes responded with a 9-0 run over the next 3:25 to level the score at 40-40 with 11:06 to play. During the run sophomore Kelsey Beynnon (Burlington, Vt.) had four points Gang completed a three-point play.
After Johnson scored the next four points to give the Stags a 44-40 lead with 10:01 to go, Beynnon hit a left wing three to give Marist a 48-47 lead, its first advantage since it was 6-5.
Fairfield built the lead back to five points, 52-47, but Marist responded with a 5-0 run that capped with a Yarde jumper with 1:37 and tied the score at 52 all.
In the game, Marist was outrebounded 37-32. Fairfield shot 38.9 percent from the field and the Red Foxes shot 38.2 percent. Marist shot 10-for-11 from the free throw line in the game and made its first 10 attempts from the line.
Johnson paced the Stags with 15 points and 12 rebounds. MacFarlane contributed 14 points and nine rebounds. The loss snapped five-game MAAC winning streak.
Marist will next be in action on Friday, Feb. 11 for a MAAC contest at Iona. Tip-off at the Hynes Athletic Center is slated for 4:30 p.m. The game will be televised nationally on ESPNU.
Notes: The Red Foxes erased an eight-point halftime deficit, just the second time it has come back to win when trailing at halftime. Marist trailed 39-34 to Nebraska... The win marks Marist's 17th in a row and the second longest winning streak in program history... Beynnon set a career-high with 22 minutes and played all 20 minutes in the second half... Marist is 19-15 all-time against Fairfield and 9-8 when the Red Foxes are the road team ... Giorgis is 17-4 all-time against the Stags.
