POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – The Marist women's basketball team picked up a thrilling last second comeback 68-67 win over the Rider University Broncs on Sunday afternoon at McCann Arena.

Down by four with 20 seconds left, the Red Foxes scored five points in 13 seconds on a layup by junior Maura Fitzpatrick and free throws by redshirt sophomore Grace Vander Weide and Alana Gilmer to secure the one point win.

SUMMARY

Marist jumped out to an early four point lead with 8:16 left in the first quarter before the Broncs answered and tied the game at 11-11 with 4:06 remaining. Rider continued the momentum, building their lead to as many as eight points and held the 23-18 advantage at the end of the opening period.

The Broncs held onto their multi-possession lead until a three pointer by Gilmer tied the game at 32-32 with 29 seconds left in the first half. Rider answered with a three on the next possession but a layup by Vander Weide as time expired sent the teams into the locker room at 35-34 in favor of the Broncs.

The Red Foxes quickly tied the score and gained a four point lead on a jumper by Gilmer at the 7:18 mark of the third quarter. Rider answered and tied the game at 41-41 at 6:33 and then built its lead up to as many as four with 3:36 remaining in the period. Marist answered back and tied the game at 50-50 on a free throw by freshman Allie Best with 21 seconds left and the two teams headed into the final 10 minutes all tied up.

The Broncs quickly regained the advantage and led by as many as 6 at 65-59 with 1:49 left in the game but the Red Foxes slowly chipped away and got to within three on a free throw by Gilmer with 20 seconds left. Following a missed free throw, Fitzpatrick snagged the rebound and put it back up for the layup and foul to make it 67-66.

After she missed the free throw, freshman Willow Duffell snagged the rebound and 11 seconds later two free throws by Vander Weide gave Marist the 68-67 lead. Rider tried to answer with seven seconds remaining in the game but stout defense and two blocks by Gilmer gave the Red Foxes the one point victory.

KEY STATS

• Marist outshot the Broncs 41%-37% from the floor
• The Red Foxes shot 39% from three point range while Rider shot 25%
• Marist out rebounded the Broncs 41-34 and 14-11 on the offensive glass
• Rider committed 10 turnovers to the Red Foxes' 12

GAME NOTES

• Rebekah Hand picked up her third 20+ point game of the season and the Red Foxes ninth overall
• Hand also finished the game 10-for-10 from the foul-line which is her 10^th perfect game from the free throw stripe this season
• Alana Gilmer's five blocks were a career-high
• The win improves Marist to 9-10 overall and 5-2 in conference

 
QUOTE

"Tremendous basketball game, a game like this for women's basketball is really a treat for the fans but not so much for the head coaches. Two teams that have been at the top of the MAAC fighting it out tooth and nail." – Head coach Brian Giorgis

UP NEXT

Next up, Marist heads to Jersey City, NJ for a makeup game at the Saint Peter's Peacocks on Tuesday at 7 PM.