Editor's Note: The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference is celebrating its 40^th anniversary season in 2020-21. Throughout this summer, the conference will be announcing all-anniversary teams for each sport it currently sponsors. In conjunction, the Marist Athletics Department will highlight its achievements from the MAAC era.
 
Previous installments: Men's Basketball
 
POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – Marist Women's Basketball played its first season of MAAC competition in the 1997-98 campaign. No team in the conference has had more success since.
 
As the MAAC celebrates its 40^th anniversary in women's basketball, the Red Foxes look ahead to their 24^th season as a member school in 2020-21. During that time, Marist has won a conference-best 10 MAAC Championships, and appeared in 14 total MAAC title games. During the regular season, Marist has won 296 regular season matchups against MAAC foes, and has won 40 games in the MAAC Tournament.
 

BRIAN GIORGIS

Marist's sustained success in the MAAC coincides with Brian Giorgis' tenure as head coach. Arriving in 2002, Giorgis has amassed a career 425-160 record, the most head coaching wins in MAAC history. Of the Red Foxes' 336 total MAAC victories (including postseason), Giorgis was at the helm for all but 22 of them; all 10 MAAC titles and 40 MAAC Tournament wins came under his leadership as well. Last year, he earned his 400^th victory at Marist against Boston University on November 8, 2019, believed to become the first coach in NCAA history with 400 wins at the Division I level as well as a high school coach. Giorgis was recognized as part of the MAAC's 40^th Anniversary Women's Basketball Team.
 

ALL-TIME ALL-MAAC HONORS

 

All-MAAC Honor	Number of Marist Selections in Program History
All-MAAC First Team	21
All-MAAC Second Team	16
All-MAAC Third Team	10
MAAC All-Rookie Team	15
MAAC Player of the Year	7 (Tori Jarosz, Corielle Yarde, Erica Allenspach, Rachele Fitz – 3, Fifi Camara)
MAAC Defensive Player of the Year	6 (Maura Fitzpatrick, Leanne Ockenden – 2, Alisa Kresge – 3)
MAAC Rookie of the Year	3 (Rebekah Hand, Erica Allenspach, Rachele Fitz)
MAAC 6th Player of the Year	3 (Kristina Danella, Lynzee Johnson, Kristin Keller)
MAAC All-Tournament MVP	10 (Sydney Coffey, Elizabeth Beynnon, Corielle Yarde, Erica Allenspach, Rachele Fitz – 2, Julianne Viani, Sarah Smrdel, Meg Dahlman, Stephanie Del Preore)
MAAC All-Tournament Team	40

 

MILESTONE TIMELINE 1998-2005

• January 6, 1998 – The Red Foxes play their first game as a member of the MAAC, facing Fairfield in Poughkeepsie.
• January 16, 1998 – Marist wins its first MAAC contest, a 61-35 rout of Canisius.
• May 15, 2002 – Marist hires Brian Giorgis as the fifth head coach in the program's Division I history.
• March 6, 2003 – Behind a team-best 16 points from Stephanie Del Preore and a career-high 15 points from Kristin Keller, the Foxes take down Loyola (MD) 72-69 for their first win in the MAAC Tournament in Trenton, New Jersey.
• March 5, 2004 – In only his second season, Giorgis is named the MAAC Coach of the Year after guiding the Red Foxes to a 13-5 MAAC record, Marist's first season above .500 in conference play.
• March 7, 2004 – Del Preore's 30 points and 16 rebounds lead Marist to its first MAAC title in program history, a 76-74 dub over the Golden Griffins in Albany, New York.
• March 20, 2004 – The Red Foxes compete in the NCAA Tournament for the time, squaring off against third-seeded Oklahoma as a 14-seed.
• February 27, 2005 – Keller and Fifi Camara become Marist's first All-MAAC First Team honorees.

MILESTONE TIMELINE 2006-2009

• March 2, 2006 – After being named Preseason Player of the Year, Camara takes home Marist's first MAAC Player of the Year award after leading the MAAC with 16.5 points per game.
• March 5, 2006 – The Red Foxes capture their second MAAC Championship in three years thanks to a 68-57 triumph over Loyola (MD). Meg Dahlman paces Marist with 15 points and 11 boards. The victory would begin a run of nine consecutive MAAC titles for the Foxes.
• February 19, 2007 – Marist thwarts Rider 75-57 to hand Giorgis his 100^th career victory. The Red Foxes clinched their third-straight regular season championship and improved to 22-5 and 15-1 in the MAAC, setting a then-program record for wins in a season.
• March 17, 2007 – No. 13 Marist upsets No. 4 Ohio State in the NCAA Tournament 67-63 to advance to the second round of the Big Dance for the first time in school history. Julianne Viani drained six three-pointers for a game-high 24 points.
• March 19, 2007 – Marist becomes the first MAAC program, across both the men's and women's sides, to reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament after beating fifth-seeded Middle Tennessee State 73-59.
• January 27, 2008 – An 85-59 victory over Loyola (MD) provided the 100^th MAAC regular season win for the Foxes.
• March 1, 2008 – With a 71-58 win over Saint Peter's, Marist becomes the first MAAC team to go 18-0 in conference play since the expansion to 10 teams in 1997.
• March 17, 2008 – After securing its third-consecutive MAAC Championship and fourth in program history, the #22/22 Red Foxes are seeded seventh in the NCAA Tournament, becoming the second MAAC program to rank seventh in the Big Dance (Holy Cross, 1985).
• March 22, 2008 – As the highest-ranked MAAC program in the NCAA Tournament, Marist reaches the second round after defeating No. 10 DePaul, setting a MAAC record for wins in a season with 32.
• January 30, 2009 - Fitz becomes the program's all-time leading scorer, surpassing Ursula Winter with 1,587 points, a record she still holds today with 2,447 points.
• February 12, 2009 – The Red Foxes win their 100^th MAAC regular season game under Giorgis as Viani, Rachele Fitz, and Erica Allespach lift Marist over Fairfield 64-52.
• March 8, 2009 – Marist becomes the first MAAC school to win four straight MAAC Championships as Viani and Allenspach drop 22 points in a 78-63 triumph over Canisius.
• December 9, 2009 – Fitz becomes the first Red Fox in program history, as well as the sixth MAAC student-athlete all-time, to reach 2,000 career points.

MILESTONE TIMELINE 2010-2015

• March 4, 2010 – After being named to her third-straight All-MAAC First Team, Fitz becomes the first student-athlete to win MAAC Player of the Year honors for three years in a row.
• December 11, 2010 – Giorgis collects his 200^th win as a Red Fox in 264 games as Marist dispatches Boston University 71-55. Corielle Yarde posts 16 points and 12 boards.
• December 20, 2010 – At the Duel in the Desert, Marist upsets #21 Nebraska 65-60 for the first regular season win over a ranked opponent in program history.
• February 4, 2011 – Marist hosts a sell-out crowd of 3,200 against Niagara, selling out its "Pack the House" game for the fourth consecutive season. The Red Foxes were the MAAC winner for the third time in four seasons and the NCAA's overall winner of the "Pack the House" Challenge that year.
• March 8, 2011 – Fresh off its sixth MAAC title in a row, Marist jumps to #17 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll, the top ranking for the program.

• March 19, 2011 – In the first round of the NCAA Tournament, 10^th-seeded and #19/17 Marist comes back to beat Iowa State 74-64 to extend its program record and nation's best winning streak to 27 games.
• March 1, 2012 – Yarde succeeds Fitz (2008-10) and Allenspach (2011) to become Marist's fifth-straight MAAC Player of the Year after averaging 14.0 points per game, 6.5 rebounds per game, and 4.1 assists per game. Giorgis also wins MAAC Coach of the Year for the sixth time.
• March 18, 2012 – Marist dispatches Georgia 76-70 as a #13 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the Red Foxes' MAAC-best fifth win in the Big Dance. Yarde drops 21 points, while Brandy Gang and Casey Dulin also reach double figures.
• March 3, 2013 – Led by 16 points from Elizabeth Beynnon, Marist crushes Fairfield 70-33 to clinch its third perfect regular season in MAAC play. Three undefeated 18-0 seasons in the 10+ team format remains a MAAC record.
• December 21, 2013 - Marist drops #20/19 Oklahoma at McCann Arena, 76-69, behind 25 points from Sydney Coffey. It marks the first home win against a ranked opponent in team history.
• January 19, 2014 – Emma O'Connor notches a double-double with 20 points and 10 boards to pace Marist's 73-47 romp vs. Canisius, the program's 200^th MAAC regular season win.
• February 28, 2014 – Giorgis reaches 300 career victories as head coach following an 83-52 romp over Monmouth. O'Connor totals 16 points on Senior Day.
• March 10, 2014 – Overcoming a 17-point first-half deficit, Sydney Coffey's 23 points guide the Foxes to their ninth consecutive (10^th overall) MAAC Championship, a 70-66 victory over Quinnipiac.
• February 6, 2015 – In just 231 games, Giorgis reaches 200 MAAC regular season wins as Tori Jarosz's 23-point, 11-rebound double-double highlights a 75-66 win over Niagara.
• March 19, 2015 – Marist plays in a postseason tournament for the 10^th season in a row, hosting a WNIT game for the first time.

MILESTONE TIMELINE 2016-PRESENT

• March 2, 2016 – Celebrating its 35^th Anniversary, the MAAC selects Marist's Sweet 16 run in 2007 as its number one moment out of 35 moments.
• March 4, 2016 – Jarosz joins Yarde, Allenspach, Fitz, and Camara as she wins MAAC Player of the Year following a season where she paced the MAAC with 18.8 points per game, 12.1 rebounds per game, and a .490 shooting percentage.
• February 20, 2018 – Taking regular season and postseason games into account, Marist's 55-45 win over Iona is its 300^th win over a MAAC team while a member of the MAAC.
• March 12, 2018 – Marist earns its second bid to the WNIT.
• January 30, 2019 – Rebekah Hand extends her consecutive free throw streak to 62, making it the fourth-longest stretch in NCAA history. She had previously become the first NCAA Division I player with multiple streaks of 50+ made free throws.
• November 8, 2019 – The Foxes open the 2019-20 season with an 89-75 victory at Boston University, giving Giorgis his 400^th career win.
• March 7, 2020 – An 81-69 win on Senior Night clinches Marist's ninth season with at least 25 wins, and the fifth season with 18 regular season conference wins. Hand and fellow captains Alana Gilmer and Grace Vander Weide each chip in 18 points.
• March 11, 2020 – The Red Foxes throttle Monmouth 68-44 in the MAAC Quarterfinals in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Thanks to the win, Marist has tallied a win in the MAAC Championship in every season under Giorgis.