POUGHKEEPSIE, New York - Marist women's basketball (10-5, 2-1 MAAC) was defeated by Quinnipiac (8-6, 3-0 MAAC) on Thursday afternoon at McCann Arena. The Red Foxes were able to hang tough through the first half, but turnovers and offensive rebounds at the beginning of the third quarter let Quinnipiac pull ahead and win, 76-69.
 

SUMMARY

• Quinnipiac forced seven turnovers in the first quarter to take an early advantage, but Alana Gilmer hit a half-court buzzer beater to tie the game up at 12 at the break.
• The Red Foxes didn't score a field goal in the first five minutes of the second quarter, but proceeded to make three-straight following a timeout to cut the Bobcats' lead to one.
• Quinnipiac's Taylor Herd knocked down a pair of back-to-back three-pointers to build a seven point lead, but Willow Duffell answered before the quarter ended to put the score at 28-23 at halftime.
• The Bobcats allowed only one field goal by Marist in the first four minutes of the third quarter, and eventually got out to a 43-27 lead. 
• The Red Foxes were able to to continue scoring by drawing fouls and making free throws, but Gilmer scored their first field goal in over six minutes with 83 seconds left in the quarter. 
• Quinnipiac drew nine turnovers in the third quarter to lead 52-39 entering the fourth.
• Marist kept pace with the Bobcats for most of the fourth quarter, but were unable to cut down the lead until a pair of defensive stops and consecutive three-pointers by Lovisa Henningsdottir reduced it to 74-67 with 2:30 to go.

KEY STATS

• Lovisa Henningsdottir led the Red Foxes in scoring with 16 points on 5-for-6 shooting with four three-pointers, three rebounds and two blocks.
• Quinnipiac had 16 offensive rebounds compared to Marist's six, which allowed the Bobcats to have a 15-2 advantage in second chance points.
• Marist shot 27-of-29 from the free throw line.
• The Red Foxes shot 39.1 percent from the field compared to Quinnipiac's 34.8 percent, but the Bobcats had a 20-shot advantage.
• Quinnipiac had the edge in bench points 31-19, with five total players in double-digits. Taylor Herd had a game-high 18 points off the bench.

GAME NOTES

• Rebekah Hand made 8-of-8 free throws to improve her season percentage to 96.0 percent and remain atop the nation in that category.
• Hand's 1,199 career points move her to 12th all time in Marist history.
• Henningsdottir's 16 points were a season-high, along with her four three-pointers and five field goals-made.
• Today marked the first time this season the Red Foxes had four double-digit scorers, and only had more in the win against Albany on Dec. 8 with five.

QUOTE

"That was a great defensive game from Quinnipiac. I thought that was the difference in the game, as well as their rebounding and second-chance opportunities" remarked Coach Brian Giorgis. "Those were the things we talked about the most all week, and we just didn't do the job. To me it was just a great learning game. If we're only able to beat them once, I'd rather beat them in March. There's so many things we can learn from a game like this, and I give credit to our kids because they didn't quit when the lead got up to 16 points. We have to do a better job defensively and find a new way to attack them offensively, and it's clear to see why they are the two-time defending MAAC Champions."
 

UP NEXT

The Red Foxes have a day of rest before they travel to Fairfield (3-10, 0-2 MAAC), where the game will be broadcast on ESPN3. Geoff Brault will be on call with radio as well. Marist has a slate of four games in eight days, including a three game homestand from Jan. 15-20.