ALBANY, New York – The second-seeded Marist women's basketball team was defeated by top-seeded Quinnipiac by a score of 67-58 in the final of the 2018 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Championship at the Times Union Center on Monday.
Summary
- The first 2:38 was scoreless until a basket by Quinnipiac's Paula Strautmane.
- After the Red Foxes went scoreless on their first four possessions, they got threes on back-to-back trips by red-shirt sophomore point guard Grace Vander Weide and red-shirt sophomore forward Alana Gilmer.
- After the first quarter, Marist held a 15-12 lead. The Red Foxes went 3-for-3 from three in the first 10 minutes, and Quinnipiac was in front for just 21 seconds (between Strautmane's opening basket and Vander Weide's subsequent three).
- Marist's lead reached a first-half high of seven on a three-point play by sophomore guard Rebekah Hand at the 8:19 mark of the second quarter.
- After a 6-0 spurt by Quinnipiac tied the game at the 5:25 mark of the second quarter, Hand's three-pointer put the Red Foxes back in front.
- Quinnipiac took its first lead of the second quarter on a driving layup from Aryn McClure, which put the Bobcats up 34-33 with 1:07 left until the half. But Gilmer answered with a 15-foot jumper on the next possession to put the Red Foxes back in front, and the Red Foxes took a 35-34 lead to the locker room.
- Quinnipiac's Jen Fay scored the first eight points of the third quarter to give the Bobcats' their largest lead to that juncture. Marist had turnovers on its first four possessions of the period.
- Marist answered with a 7-0 run, which tied the game at 42, but Fay answered with an 18-footer to put the Bobcats back in front.
- Quinnipiac led 48-44 after three quarters. Fay scored 12 of the Bobcats' 14 points in the period.
- In the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter, the Bobcats' lead hovered between one and five points.
- Marist never led in the fourth quarter. The Bobcats' final margin of nine points tied its largest of the game.
Key Stats
- Gilmer led the Red Foxes with 19 points, and also contributed seven rebounds and a team-high five assists.
- Hand gave Marist a second double-digit scorer with 17 points in addition to seven rebounds.
- Junior guard Maura Fitzpatrick had a team-high eight rebounds to go along with nine points.
- Marist shot .400 (22-for-55) from the field and .438 (7-for-16) from three-point range. However, in the second half, the Red Foxes were just .296 (8-for-27) from the field and .273 (3-for-11) from three-point range.
- For Quinnipiac, Fay had game highs in points (23) and rebounds (10).
- The Bobcats shot .410 (25-for-61) from the field and .385 (10-for-26) from three-point range. Quinnipiac was 3-for-5 from deep on the final quarter.
- Marist finished with 13 turnovers, while Quinnipiac had just three. The Bobcats had a 16-5 advantage in points off turnovers.
Notes
- Following the game, Hand and Gilmer were named to the conference's All-Tournament Team.
- This was the third meeting in the MAAC championship final between Marist and Quinnipiac the last five years. The Bobcats have won two out of the three.
- Marist played in its 13th MAAC championship game in program history. The Red Foxes are now 10-3 all-time in the conference final.
- Head coach Brian Giorgis is now 37-6 all-time in MAAC championship play.
Records
Marist is now 20-13. Quinnipiac is 27-5.
Quote of the day
"Our kids played their hearts out," Giorgis said. "It was a tremendous game. I think down the stretch, we lost our legs. They are a little deeper than we are. They made big shots down the stretch - big threes - and we missed some shots."
What's Next
For the second time in program history, Marist will compete in the Postseason WNIT. The Red Foxes will learn of their first-round opponent and location on Monday, March 12.
