LEWISTON, New York - Marist women's basketball begins a two-game road trip on Thursday when they play Niagara in the MAAC season opener. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.
 

LAST TIME OUT

• Marist dropped its final non-conference game to UMass 70-55 on Saturday, Dec. 29.
• The Red Foxes mounted a late comeback to cut the deficit to four, but were unable to reclaim the lead in the fourth quarter.
• Alana Gilmer scored a team-high 13 points along with six rebounds, four assists, a block and a steal. 

SCOUTING THE PURPLE EAGLES

• Niagara (4-8) is coming off of a 74-69 home victory against Colgate.
• The team is led by Jai Moore, who is averaging 15.0 ppg and dropped a career-high 31 points against Colgate.
• Moore was selected to the Preseason All-MAAC Third Team.

MAAC ACCOLADES

• The Red Foxes have earned four MAAC weekly awards so far this season, with Sarah Barcello most recently having been named Rookie of the Week.
• Making her first career start, Barcello earned her first MAAC honor on Dec. 31 for contributing eight points against UMass, shooting 50% from the field with two 3-pointers.
• Alana Gilmer was named the MAAC Player of the Week for the second time this season on Dec. 24 for averaging 21.5 points over two games, including a career-high 30 points in the win over Northeastern.
• After being named to the Challenge at Music City Tournament All-Tournament team in late November, Rebekah Hand was named the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Player of the Week for the first time in her career.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Thursday's game will be broadcast on PurpleEagles.com, and radio will be available on GoRedFoxes.com with Geoff Brault on call. Fans can follow along on Twitter at MaristWBB
 

UP NEXT

Marist will stay in the Buffalo area to play MAAC opponent Canisius on Saturday, Jan. 5. The game is set to begin at 2 p.m.