POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – In the 2019-20 regular season finale, Marist Women's Basketball (24-4, 17-2 MAAC) honors its Class of 2020 and welcomes Siena (10-18, 8-11 MAAC) to McCann Arena on Saturday, March 7 at 7 p.m. The program will honor seniors Alana Gilmer, Hannah Hand, Rebekah Hand, Molly Smith, Grace Vander Weide, and manager Melissa Guillen with a pregame ceremony, beginning at approximately 6:40 p.m.
 

HOW TO FOLLOW

• Tickets are on sale at MaristTickets.com.
• Saturday's contest airs on ESPN3, beginning at the top of the hour. Geoff Brault and Steve Eggink have the call.
• Live statistics will be available via GoRedFoxes.com.
• @MaristWBB on Twitter will provide live updates and in-game highlights.

 

RED FOX NETWORK FEATURE

• Earlier in the week, the Red Fox Network sat down with the senior class to reflect on their time at Marist and how being a part of the program affected their lives.
• To watch the full feature, click on the video at the top of the article.

We waited until the last possible moment to post this #WallpaperWednesday because we can't believe that it's the final week we'll see this group play at McCann ?? #GoRedFoxes pic.twitter.com/VE5ia1zEUv

— Marist WBB (@MaristWBB) March 5, 2020

LAST TIME OUT

• Marist outscored Iona 21-8 in the second quarter to provide enough cushion for a 59-47 triumph on Thursday, March 5 at McCann Arena.
• Rebekah Hand paced the Red Foxes with 15 points and nine rebounds. Sarah Barcello added 13 points and five boards, while Gilmer and Willow Duffell had 13 and 10 points, respectively.
• Gilmer moved into fourth place on the all-time points list at Marist in the process.
• The Red and White led by as much as 24 points in the third quarter.

 

SCOUTING SIENA

• The Saints are tied with the Gaels for sixth place heading into the final day of the year, sporting an 8-11 MAAC record.
• On Thursday, Siena dropped a road battle to Fairfield, 58-46.
• Sabrina Piper leads the team with 13.5 points per game in 2019-20, while Amari Anthony averages 10.7 points in conference play.

 

WE MEET AGAIN

• Marist and Siena meet less than three weeks since their first matchup, a 78-55 victory for the Red Foxes at the Times-Union Center on February 16.
• Rebekah Hand tied her career-high and set a season-high for a Red Fox with 32 points on 14-17 shooting. She scored 21 of her points in the first half.
• Gilmer recorded 20 points and 12 rebounds for a double-double. She put up 10 points and eight boards in the third quarter alone.
• As a team, Marist shot 62 percent inside the arc, and had 17 offensive rebounds.

 

SERIES HISTORY

• Saturday marks the 68^th meeting all-time between Marist and Siena.
• The Red Foxes are 36-31 in the series, and have won five straight in the series.

 

THE BODY OF WORK

•  In 2019-20, Marist has totaled 24 wins, including a 17-2 record in MAAC play. The team's winning percentage of 85.7 percent is in the top 20 in the NCAA.
• For the 13th time in program history, Marist is on a 10-game winning streak. The Foxes are 19-2 since December 15.
• The Red Foxes are 13-2 in games away from Poughkeepsie, and 11-2 at home.
• Entering this week, Marist's RPI was 55th.
• When its entire starting lineup has been fully healthy, Marist is 13-1, and has not lost a game in regulation with Vander Weide, Barcello, Rebekah Hand, Gilmer, and Duffell starting.
• The Red Foxes' signature wins this season have come against Rider (92nd in the RPI) and UT Arlington (102nd in the RPI). Marist has two losses to teams ranked in the top 20 in the RPI in Princeton (11th) and Central Michigan (18th). However, Duffell did not play in those two games due to injury.

 

SEEDING SCENARIOS

• Marist and Rider enter the weekend tied for top spot in the MAAC standings with a 17-2 conference record.
• Both teams split the regular season series. In a two-way tie, Rider has the edge based on record against the rest of the league in descending order of the standings. The Broncs gain the advantage at Fairfield, having swept the season series compared to Marist's 1-1 record against the Stags.
• The Red Foxes secure the No. 1 seed outright and earn sole possession of the regular season championship with a win paired with a Rider loss at Monmouth.
• In all other scenarios, Marist takes the No. 2 seed. The Red Foxes and the Broncs would share the regular season title if both teams win or lose on Saturday.

 

ON THE HORIZON

• Marist will begin the 2020 Hercules Tires MAAC Women's Basketball Championship on Wednesday, March 11 from Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ.
• Tipoff for the quarterfinal matchup will take place at either 1 p.m. (if Marist is the No. 1 seed) or 3:30 p.m. (if Marist is the No. 2 seed).