POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – Women's basketball came out swinging against Canisius, and earned the season sweep with a score of 66-50 on Saturday night. The Red Foxes set the tone early, and reached their largest halftime lead of the season by holding the Golden Griffins to 11 points through 20 minutes.

SUMMARY

• Marist started off strong, scoring 11 points and grabbing three steals before allowing Canisius to score.
• The Red Foxes led 17-7 after the first quarter, holding the Golden Griffins to 3-11 from the field.
• Early in the second, Willow Duffell made her first career three-pointer to cap off a 11-2 run.
• Marist held Canisius to 2-for-15 shooting in the second quarter to lead 38-11 at the half, the largest halftime lead of the season..
• The pace slowed down to start the third, but Marist maintained a 45-17 lead at the midway point of the quarter.
• Canisius found some rhythm in the third, but the Red Foxes outpaced them to build the lead to 52-22 entering the fourth.
• The Golden Griffins mounted a 15-3 run in the fourth to cut down Marist's lead, but they still trailed 58-37 with less than four minutes left.
• Canisius stayed strong through the final minutes of the game, but could not overcome the lead built by the Red Foxes through the first half.

KEY STATS

• A 27-point halftime lead is the largest of the season for Marist.
• 11 points is the least that the Red Foxes have allowed in a half.
• Willow Duffell's three-pointer was the first of her collegiate career in only three tries, and her first attempt of the season.
• D'Jhai Patterson-Ricks was the lone Canisius player to reach double-digit scoring.

GAME NOTES

• Tonight marked Rebekah Hand's 26^th double-digit scoring game of the season, and her 36^th straight going back to last season.
• Alana Gilmer reached her 21^st double-digit game of the season.
• Marist is now 38-14 with Canisius, winning the last seven meetings.

QUOTE

"I thought we came out with a lot of energy, especially on the defensive end. We were aggressively contesting shots, rebounding well, and we got in transition" lauded Coach Brian Giorgis. "Grace [Vander Weide] pushed the ball really well which got us some nice and easy buckets. I thought it was a really great effort on both ends of the floor in the first half and in the third, and we got some kids some much-needed playing time in the fourth."
 

UP NEXT

Women's basketball stays home to host Fairfield on Feb. 19. The game tips off at 7 p.m. on ESPN+, and tickets are on sale now.