JERSEY CITY, New Jersey – Marist women's basketball (15-5, 7-1 MAAC) knocked off Saint Peter's (6-12, 1-6 MAAC) for their fifth straight win on Friday night. The Peacocks fought hard to cut a double-digit lead to seven, but consecutive scores by Alana Gilmer sparked a run in the fourth to lead the Red Foxes to a 20-point victory.

SUMMARY

• Marist led 24-9 after first quarter after shooting 53% from the field and 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.
• Saint Peter's opened the second quarter with some fight, making the first few baskets to reduce the lead and eventually end the half trailing only 33-25. They outscored the Red Foxes in the 16-9 for the quarter.
• Marist reached a double-digit lead multiple times in the third, but could not pull ahead completely until just before the end of the quarter with Allie Best's layup through contact to end a three minute scoring drought.
• Gilmer opened the fourth quarter with consecutive midrange jumpers to extend Marist's lead to more than 15 for the first time since the first quarter.
• The Red Foxes went on to shoot 55% from the field in the fourth and earn the victory, 62-42.

KEY STATS

• Grace Vander Weide's nine assists were a career-high.
• Allie Best's eight rebounds were a career-high.
• Willow Duffell's 11 rebounds matched her career-high.
• Sarah Barcello's three steals matched her career-high.
• Alana Gilmer's two blocks matched her career-high.

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GAME NOTES

• The win marked Marist's fourth consecutive victory by 20 or more points.
• No players reached double-figure scoring for Saint Peter's.
• Rebekah Hand continued her streak of consecutive free throw makes by reaching 54 tonight.
• The Red Foxes held the Peacocks to 23% shooting from the field, the lowest opponent field percentage of the season.
• Marist's eight blocks were a season high for the team.

QUOTE

"We shot well from three, but we missed a lot of layups and had too many unforced errors" remarked Coach Brian Giorgis. "We handled their press pretty well, and defensively we did a standout job on [Zoe] Pero and [Briyanah] Richardson. Sarah Barcello and Allie Best did a great job coming in for us in the fourth quarter when others were in foul trouble. Defensively we were good throughout."
 

UP NEXT

Marist returns home to host Manhattan (3-14, 1-5 MAAC) on Sunday, Jan. 27. The annual Hudson Valley Fresh Milk and Cookies game will be streamed on ESPN3, and tickets are on sale now.