POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – The Marist Women's Basketball team will travel to face MAAC rival Monmouth on Thursday night at Oceanfirst Bank Center in West Long Branch, NJ. Tip is set for 7 p.m.
 
PREVIOUS OUTING
The Red Foxes are coming off of a strong win against Siena, 73-54. Sophomore Rebekah Hand led the way with 20 points (11 of them coming from the free throw stripe) and 10 rebounds to secure the double-double. Redshirt sophomore Alana Gilmer put up 16 points on 5-10 shooting from the field. Freshman Allie Best was the third Red Fox in double figures with 12 points while shooting 3-5 from three. Every player that saw the floor scored points and contributed at least one assist, and all but one contributed at least two rebounds.
 
LAST MATCHUP AGAINST MONMOUTH
The Red Foxes hosted the Hawks on Saturday, December 30th and came away with a 69-46 victory. Alana Gilmer set a career high with 27 points on 11-18 shooting from the field. Junior Maura Fitzpatrick(12) and Rebekah Hand(11) were the other two Red Foxes in double figures. Four players tied for the team lead with seven rebounds: freshman Willow Duffell, red-shirt sophomore Grace Vander Weide, Maura Fitzpatrick, and Rebekah Hand. Marist played excellent defense the whole game, but especially in the fourth quarter when they held the Hawks to just five points - the lowest opponent scoring quarter of the season.
 
SCOUTING THE HAWKS
The Hawks 6-16 overall and 4-7 in the MAAC conference this season. They are coming off of a close road loss to Siena, 44-41. Rhai Spooner-Knight led the team with 15 points while shooting 5-8 from the field. Alexa Middleton secured a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Taylor Nason filled out the statline with four points, six rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
 
FREE THROW HISTORY
Rebekah Hand's 52 consecutive free throw makes is tied for 7th in NCAA Division 1 history. Elena Delle Donne achieved this feat in 2011. Rebekah is currently 3rd in the nation with a .958 free throw percentage. She trails Kitija Laksa of South Florida(.970%) and and Candice White of Fresno State(.968%).
 
DEFENDING THE DEN
The Red Foxes have used the electric atmosphere of McCann Arena to their advantage this season, compiling an 8-2 record at home, including a perfect 6-0 record in conference games. Marist is averaging 69 points per game at home. The Red Foxes also put up 117 points in the charity exhibition game against Bloomfield College back in November.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
You can follow along on the Marist women's basketball twitter account (@MaristWBB) and listen live on the Red Fox Network with Geoff Brault on play-by-play and Steve Eggink on color. The game will also be streamed live on ESPN3.
 
UP NEXT
Marist will return home to battle MAAC rival Canisius on Sunday, February 11th. Tip is set for 2 p.m. This will be the annual Play4Kay game, with a special ceremony at halftime to honor cancer survivors. Fans are encouraged to wear pink to support the Miles of Hope Breast Cancer Foundation and raise breast cancer awareness.