SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Competing in its 11th NCAA Tournament in program history, Marist Women's Basketball vies to become the first 15-seed to win a game in the Big Dance when the Red Foxes square off against 2-seed Louisville in the first round on Monday, March 22nd at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT.
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- Monday's matchup airs on ESPN. Pam Ward and LaChina Robinson provide the play-by-play and analysis, respectively, with Holly Rowe reporting from the sidelines.
- Geoff Brault handles play-by-play for the audio-only broadcast on GoRedFoxes.com.
- Live statistics will be available through NCAA.com, using the link above.
- @MaristWBB on Twitter and Instagram will have live updates throughout the game.
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- Marist would capture its sixth NCAA Tournament victory, the most by any MAAC program, men's or women's.
- It would be Marist's first win in the Big Dance since 2012, when the 13-seed Red Foxes dispatched 4-seed Georgia on March 18th, 2012.
- This would also mark Marist's second win over an ACC opponent in program history. The Red Foxes' only win against a foe in the ACC at the time was over Wake Forest on November 24th, 2012, an 81-66 win in the Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.
- The winner would then face the winner of 7-seed Northwestern and 10-seed UCF in the second round. It would be the fifth appearance in the second round for Marist.
- It would mark the eighth time a MAAC team has won at least one game in the NCAA Tournament. Marist has accomplished that feat in four of the seven tournaments this has occurred.
- The Red Foxes are 5-10 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
- Marist earned its first trip to the Big Dance in 2004, earning a 14-seed and playing 3-seed Oklahoma.
- In 2007, the Red Foxes became the first MAAC program, men's or women's, to advance to the Sweet 16. The 13-seed Red Foxes defeated 4-seed Ohio State 67-63 for its first NCAA Tournament triumph in program history, then took down 5-seed Middle Tennessee St. 73-59 in the second round.
- The following year, Marist earned its highest seed ever, and the highest seed for a MAAC team in the 64-game tournament format, earning a 7-seed and beating 10-seed DePaul.
- Marist also secured wins in 2011 (As a 10-seed over 7-seed Iowa State) and 2012 (As a 13-seed over 4-seed Georgia).
- The Red Foxes appeared in 10 of 11 NCAA Tournaments from 2004-14, including nine straight from 2006-14).
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- In the NCAA Tournament, 15-seeds are 0-104 all-time entering this year's postseason.
- To date, only one team ranked a 14-seed or higher has won a game in the NCAA Tournament: 16-seed Harvard defeated a depleted 1-seed Stanford team in 1998.
- The last team ranked a 13-seed or higher to win an NCAA Tournament matchup was 13-seed Marist over 4-seed Georgia in 2012.
- Seeds 13-16 have 10 total wins in the Big Dance. The Red Foxes have three of them: two in 2007, and the one in 2012.
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- Senior guard Allie Best filmed the team's activities in the Lone Star State for two days, filming the team's walks around San Antonio, and to practice and COVID-19 testing.
- Louisville was the runner-up in the ACC, going 23-3 on the season and 14-2 in conference play.
- The Cards are No. 8 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, and No. 7 in the USA Today Top 25 poll.
- Senior guard Dana Evans is an AP First Team All-American, the 2021 Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy finalist, and the two-time ACC Player of the Year, averaging a conference-best 20.0 points per game.
- Kianna Smith (11.5 points per game), Hailey Van Lith (11.2 points per game), and Olivia Cochran (10.7 points per game) average double figures as well.
- As a team, Louisville averages 78.7 points per contest on 46.9 percent shooting.
- The Cardinals are a 2-seed for the first time in program history, and have never faced a 15-seed in the NCAA Tournament.
- Louisville is in its 10th consecutive NCAA Tournament, and 12th in 13 tournaments under Head Coach Jeff Walz. The Cardinals are 30-11 in the Bid Dance under Walz, having made three Final Fours.
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- The all-time series between Marist and Louisville is 1-1, making this the third matchup all-time.
- In the first meeting on December 18th, 2010, Corielle Yarde exploded for 25 points and 10 rebounds on 8-of-12 shooting to lead a 74-68 Red Fox victory over the then-Big East member Cardinals in the Duel in the Desert Tournament at Cox Pavilion.
- Erica Allenspach also chipped in 13 points.
- The second matchup took place at the Gulf Coast Showcase on November 27th, 2015. Tori Jarosz racked up 13 points, seven rebounds, four assists, three blocks, and three steals.
- Marist had a narrow lead with 6:01 to play in the fourth quarter, but Louisville started a 7-0 run with 2:45 to play to pull away for a 65-53 decision.
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- Allie Best remains the national leader in assist/turnover ratio at 4.78, the only Division I student-athlete above a 4.00. Her mark would be the fourth-highest all-time since the statistic became official in 2008.
- The senior captain also ranks 26th in the country with 5.2 assists per game.
- Marist's 50.0 points allowed per game ranks second only to UCF's 49.9.
- The Red Foxes also rank fifth in personal fouls per game (12.9), ninth in field goal percentage defense (34.0 percent), 12th in three-point percentage defense (25.6 percent), 17th in win percentage (.857), and 24th in assists per game (16.2).
