SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The Marist women's basketball team used a staunch defensive effort to defeat fifth-seeded Niagara 61-36 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Semifinals on Saturday. The Red Foxes advanced to its 10th consecutive MAAC Championship game and will play second-seeded Iona for the title on Monday at noon in a game televised nationally on ESPNU.
Elizabeth Beynnon (Burlington, Vt.) led the offense with 11 points and Casey Dulin (Milford, Conn.) joined her in double figures with 10 points. Emma O'Connor had eight points and a team-high seven rebounds. Sydney Coffey (New Hope, Minn.) had seven points and six rebounds, including five on the offensive glass. Leanne Ockenden (Syracuse, N.Y.) finished with six points, five rebounds and four assists. The Marist defense forced 19 Niagara turnovers and held the Purple Eagles to just five points in a span of over 17-and-a-half minutes stretching across both halves.
Both teams were sloppy in the beginning as Marist (25-6) started 0-8 from the field, not hitting its first field goal until the 14:46 mark. Despite the offensive struggles, the Red Foxes only trailed 6-4 as Dulin and Coffey both hit a pair of free throws.
Dulin finally hit a driving layup to tie the score at six and kick-start the offense into a 14-2 run. Dulin made another basket, driving hard against a defender for a layup, to give the Red Foxes their first lead at 8-6. After a Niagara (15-16) basket knotted things up again, Marist scored the next nine points on layups by Coffey and Ockenden and a three-pointer by Beynnon. Ockenden sealed the run with a put-back layup off of a missed three-pointer by Coffey.
Niagara made two quick baskets to pull within 17-12 with 6:40 left in the half, but Marist clamped down on defense, outscoring the Purple Eagles 7-0 the rest of the way. Natalie Gomez (Andover, Mass.) hit a short jump shot off an assist from Ockenden and Madeline Blais (Exeter, N.H.) went 1-2 from the free throw line. O'Connor hit two layups in the final 3:09 to finish the run and take a 24-12 lead at the midway point.
Marist held Niagara to just four points over the final 12:13 of the half while the defense forced 13 turnovers including numerous shot clock violations.
The Red Foxes opened the second half on a 9-1 run as well, holding Niagara without a field goal until the 14:34 mark. Meanwhile, Dulin hit a pair of free throws, Beynnon and Ockenden both hit two-point baskets and Coffey drained a three-pointer to bring Marist's lead to 20 at 33-13.
The closest the Purple Eagles could get the rest of the way was 16 at 37-21 while Marist expanded its lead to as much as 30 at 61-31 on two free throws by Blais with 1:56 left.
Notes - Marist has now reached the 25-win plateau for the seventh consecutive season... The Red Foxes are now on a 20-game winning streak, marking the third time they have reached a streak of such length. The won 27 straight games in 2010-11 and had a 22-game streak in 2007-08... Marist has now won 30 consecutive games against MAAC opponents, including the postseason, becoming only the third team to reach 30 straight. The last two were the Marist teams of 2006-07 through 2008-09 (35 games) and 2009-10 through 2011-12 (34 games).
The Marist Athletics Department will offer bus transportation for all those interested in attending. Buses will depart the McCann Center on Monday, March 11, at 8 a.m. and return to campus 30 minutes after the conclusion of the game. The cost is $15 but does not include a ticket to the game. Spots must be reserved by Sunday, March 10, at midnight.
CLICK HERE to secure your spot on the bus and CLICK HERE to purchase tickets. Wear your RED and we'll see you on Monday!
Become a fan of Marist Athletics on Facebook at Facebook.com/GoRedFoxes and follow us on Twitter @MaristAthletics.
-GoRedFoxes.com-
