POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - Four players recorded double-digit performances as the Marist women's basketball team shot 58% from the floor and used a 17-0 run in the first half to pull away and defeat visiting Rider 76-54 Wednesday night at McCann Arena.
Kelsey Beynnon (Burlington, Vt.) and Leanne Ockenden (Syracuse, N.Y.) established new career-highs with 18 and 17 points, respectively. Corielle Yarde (Reading, Pa.) finished with 13 points, 11 coming in the second half, and recorded her second straight game with nine rebounds while also adding five assists. Brandy Gang (Hartville, Ohio) added 12 points and Casey Dulin (Milford, Conn.) tied her personal best with eight rebounds and dished out four assists. As a team, the Red Foxes had 21 assists on 32 made field goals.
The Marist (12-6, 7-0 MAAC) offense started slowly, committing five turnovers on their first 12 possessions, as Rider (10-8, 2-5 MAAC) took an early 6-4 lead. A Beynnon layup got the Red Foxes back on track and started an 8-2 run to take 14-8 lead with 12:21 left in the first half. Gang and Dulin each also added a layup and Kristina Danella (Manalapan, N.J.) finished the streak with a short jumper.
The Broncs responded with a hot streak of their own, hitting four three-pointers in a three minute span, forcing a Marist timeout, and giving the Broncs a 20-19 advantage.
The timeout gave the Red Foxes the spark they needed, sending them on the 17-0 run. Just ten seconds after play resumed, Beynnon kicked the ball out to an open Gang for a good jump shot. A couple of possessions later, Ockenden picked off a Rider pass and drove the floor, making a nice feed to Beynnon on the other end for a layup. The next possession, it was Beynnon's turn as she stole the ball from a Rider player, and took it the length of the court for back-to-back easy layups to give Marist a 25-20 lead with 7:58 left in the opening period.
The scoring was not close to being finished however. After an Ockenden backdoor layup on a Yarde assist, Dulin had yet another steal for the Red Foxes on the defensive end and made an amazing, no look pass around a defender at the other end to a streaking Beynnon for the easy bucket. Ockenden had a layup and hit a long three-pointer to end the run, giving Marist a 36-20 lead with just over two minutes left in the half.
Marist went into the break ahead by 10 at 38-28. They also led the Broncs 12-0 in fast-break points and 28-12 in points in the paint. Beynnon led all scorers with 12 points after the opening period while Ockenden had nine and Gang had eight. Dulin and Yarde each had team-highs with four rebounds.
Early in the second half, with the lead still at 10, Yarde hit a three-pointer that jumpstarted a 12-1 run by the Red Foxes that broke game open, 58-37, with 13:40 left. Gang and Beynnon each contributed a layup, Dulin made a pair of free throws and Ockenden hit the second of her three baskets from behind the arc.
Beynnon extended the advantage to a game-high 25 points at 69-44 with 5:20 left and Marist began to empty the bench as every available player got into the game.
The Red Foxes will turn right around and host Loyola on Friday night in a game that will be broadcast nationally by ESPNU, the 24-hour college sports network. Tip-off is at 6 p.m. and is the first part of a separate admission double-header with the men's team, who will host Manhattan at 9 p.m on ESPN3.
Notes - Marist has now won 31 consecutive games against conference opponents and has started MAAC play 7-0 for the seventh straight season... The Red Foxes are 32-14 all-time against Rider... Head Coach
Brian Giorgis is 19-1 in his career against the Broncs.
