POUGHKEEPSIE, New York -Â Redshirt senior captain
Alana Gilmer unloaded a season-high 27 points, fellow captains
Grace Vander Weide and
Rebekah Hand added 15 and 11 points, respectively, and Marist Women's Basketball emerged victorious over Monmouth 76-66 on Thursday evening at McCann Arena.
The Red Foxes win their 2019-20 MAAC opener and boost their winning streak to three, good for an 8-2 record. Monmouth falls to 1-1 against conference foes and 4-7 overall.
Gilmer totaled 10 baskets on 17 attempts for her fourth-career 20-point effort against the Hawks, falling three points shy of her career-best. The Massachusetts native scored 15 of her points in the first half, including six of Marist's nine points.
Marist got off to a solid start on both ends of the floor, forcing nine Monmouth turnovers in the opening quarter while scoring 21 points. With a layup at the seven-second mark of the stanza,
Rebekah Hand moved into fourth place all-time on Marist's all-time field goals list, passing Charlene Fields.
The Red Foxes stretched their lead to 20 midway through the third quarter when Gilmer drained her 20th point of the affair. The Hawks would only get as close as 10 the rest of the way, which came on the game's final bucket.
- Gilmer's first basket came when she faked a three on the left wing, dribbled into the arc, and lofted a right-handed floater through the nylon, giving Marist the lead for good just 2:30 into the game.
- Freshman guard Trinasia Kennedy drove down the left lane and fed sophomore guard Kendall Krick through traffic for a layup with 3:50 left in the first.
- Making her first appearance since November 22, junior forward Willow Duffell knocked down a three-pointer from the right wing 1:20 into the second.
- With three minutes gone by in the third quarter, Rebekah Hand scooped up a loose ball on defense and led Vander Weide out for a fastbreak layup.
- Junior guard Allie Best drew defenders on the left baseline and found an open Duffell on the weak side, leading to two points that made it 60-43 with 89 seconds until the fourth.
- With 5:35 to play, Gilmer blocked Monmouth's Lucy Thomas. In transition, Vander Weide went down hte middle and got the bounce pass to a cutting Rebekah Hand to make it 73-55.
- Marist shot 50 percent (28-56) from the field, with its best effort coming in the second quarter (8-15).
- The Red Foxes had 20 assists on those 28 baskets, good for 71 percent.
- As a team, Marist capitalized for 17 points off the Hawks' 21 turnovers and 30 points in the paint.
- Monmouth had the narrow edge in rebounding, 31-30.
Â
- During the Red Foxes' three-game win streak, Gilmer is averaging 18.7 points on 53 percent shooting. She is three field goals away from entering the top 10 in program history.
- Rebekah Hand now has 549 career field goals.
- Vander Weide is now tied with Michelle Michel for 10th place all-time in career assists at Marist with 311.
- Marist is now 25-20 all-time against Monmouth, extending its win streak to six games.
- Under Head Coach Brian Giorgis, the Red Foxes are now 15-3 when beginning a new calendar year.
- Marist welcomes Saint Peter's to Poughkeepsie on Saturday, January 4 at 7 p.m.
- The Peacocks are 3-6 this season and were idle on Thursday.
- Tickets are available at MaristTickets.com.
