SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The 15^th-seeded Marist women's basketball team had its season come to an end in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Monday night. The Red Foxes led into the second quarter, but were defeated by second-seeded Louisville, 74-43.
 

Summary

• Willow Duffell scored the game's first points on a layup just 16 seconds in, and Allie Best's three-pointer staked Marist to a 5-0 lead at the 7:04 mark of the first quarter.
• Marist held Louisville scoreless for the first 3:42, and the Red Foxes held the Cardinals to two points in the first 5:30.
• Marist led by six on two occasions in the first quarter, and led 15-12 after 10 minutes.
• Three-pointers by Trinasia Kennedy and Sarah Barcello on back-to-back possessions extended Marist's lead to nine with 8:16 left in the second quarter.
• Louisville responded with seven straight points, as Marist was held scoreless for 4:07.
• The Cardinals took their first lead with 2:21 left in the second quarter on a three-point play by Mykasa Robinson.
• Louisville closed the second quarter on a 17-3 run, and took a 29-24 edge to the locker room.
• Barcello opened the third quarter scoring with a three at the 8:19 mark, which cut Marist's deficit to two.
• After Barcello's three, Louisville held Marist without a field goal for the remainder of the quarter. The Cardinals went on a 22-1 run, and led 55-33 after 30 minutes.
• Louisville's lead reached a game-high of 33 in the fourth quarter.

 

Key Stats

• Barcello led Marist with eight points. Four Red Foxes scored at least six.
• Duffell and Caitlin Weimar tied for the game high with eight rebounds. Duffell also notched a team-best four assists, while Weimar had a game-high three blocked shots.
• Hailey Van Lith scored a game-high 17 for Louisville.
• Marist had a 41-39 edge in rebounds.
• Louisville shot .444 (28-for-63) from the field, while Marist shot .232 (13-for-56).
• Marist had 22 turnovers, while Louisville committed 16.
• Marist led for 16:56, while Louisville led for 22:21.

 

Notes

• The NCAA leader in assist-to-turnover ratio, Best finished her senior year with 112 assists and 25 turnovers (4.48 ratio).
• Duffell finished her collegiate career with 730 rebounds, the seventh-highest total in program history. She averaged 10.1 rebounds in her last nine games, and her average of 9.1 rebounds per game this season is ninth-best in program history.
• Weimar finished her season with a blocked shot in her last eight games, and had 11 games with multiple blocked shots this season.
• Marist finished the season allowing 51.1 points per game, the second-best scoring defense season in program history, trailing only the 2010-11 team (49.7).
• Marist held Louisville to its lowest first quarter scoring output of the season.
• This was the Red Foxes' 11^th NCAA Tournament appearance, the most of any Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference program, and first since 2014.

 

Records

• Marist's season ends at 18-4.
• Louisville now stands at 24-3.

 

Quotes

• "Obviously we lost to a great team," Marist head coach Brian Giorgis said. "They're seeded second for a reason. We gave them a good run into the second quarter. … Their defense was excellent; they caused us a lot of confusion."
• "I've been coaching for close to 40 years, and they've been two of the best captains I've ever had," Giorgis, on Best on Duffell.
• "These kids can't disappoint me. They're good basketball players, but they're better people," Giorgis said.
• "Just my teammates, how awesome they are, and how much of a family we are. I'm going to miss them, and the memories we made," Duffell said about her teammates.