POUGHKEEPSIE, New York - The Marist women's basketball team topped Niagara for the second time this season with a final score of 82-69. Niagara came out strong with an efficient first quarter, but a career-night from Lovisa Henningsdottir propelled the Red Foxes to their 21st victory of the season.

SUMMARY

• Marist and Niagara started off hot, with both making their first few field-goal attempts in the opening minutes.
• Rebekah Hand made a layup and the and-1 to give Marist a 15-13 lead with 3:25 remaining in the first quarter.
• Henningsdottir made her second three of the night at the end of the first. She led the team with six points in the quarter.
• The Red Foxes started off the second quarter with a 16-3 run powered by Hand and Sarah Barcello hitting back-to-back three-pointers.
• Niagara's Maggie McIntyre answered with back-to-back triples of her own to bring Purple Eagles within 10 and spark a small run for the Purple Eagles.
• Kharysma Bryant made the three-and-1 to shrink the Marist lead to 39-30, but Grace Vander Weide answered with a triple from the corner to extend the Marist lead to double figures.
• Marist scored 28 points in the second quarter and took a 47-35 lead into half.
• The Red Foxes started the third quarter with a reverse layup from Barcello and a fast-break layup from Alana Gilmer to extend the lead.
• Marist was able to extend their lead past 20 points in the third with 10 points from Rebekah Hand alone, but the Purple Eagles were able to cut it to 66-48 by the end of the period.
• Henningsdottir took over early in the fourth with a 10-point quarter of her own, and the lead held through the remainder of the game.

KEY STATS

• Henningsdottir scored a career-high 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting and 5-of-9 shooting from deep.
• Marist shot an efficient 52.4% from the field and 42.3% from three.
• The Red Foxes held the Purple Eagles to 37.0% shooting from the field, but allowed 36.6% shooting from three.
• Both teams were equal at 39 rebounds apiece.

NOTES

• For her last five games, Henningsdottir is averaging 15.0 points and four three-pointers per game on 54.0% shooting from the field and 55.6% shooting from beyond the arc.
• Last year, Niagara handed Marist just their fourth MAAC loss on Senior Day to close out the season.
• In two games this season, Marist is averaging 84.5 points per game against the Purple Eagles, the most against any opponent.

QUOTE

"It felt really good to get a win on Senior Day over Niagara, especially after last year. At first, they were making all of their shots and it was beginning to feel like deja-vu all over again. We stuck with it and got some stops, and we had great offensive performances from Lovisa [Henningsdottir] and Rebekah [Hand]" stated Coach Brian Giorgis. "It was just a nice effort. We got to put a lot of people in and give them time, and I don't think Lovisa could have asked for a better senior night. Even Allie [Clement], who was really hurting before the game, was able to get a shot up. I was happy that our seniors were able to have memorable nights and finish the regular season with a win." 

UP NEXT

The Red Foxes travel to Albany for the MAAC Tournament at Times Union Center to play the winner of #6 Manhattan vs. #11 Saint Peter's. Marist's first tournament game takes place on Saturday, March 9th, at noon.