Editor's Note: As a tribute to head coach Brian Giorgis' 21 years at Marist, we will highlight one milestone win of his career each week over a 21-week span. Giorgis' final home game as the Red Foxes' head coach will be Feb. 25, 2023 against Niagara. The game is set for a 2 p.m. tip, with a ceremony to follow afterward.
 
Week One: Giorgis' First Win | Week Two: First Regular-Season Title
 
POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – The practice shirts were handed out in preseason, but they proved to correctly predict the postseason.
 
The shirts handed out by second-year head coach Brian Giorgis read "2004 MAAC Champions … Why Not US?"
 
Giorgis believed. More importantly, his players believed.
 
As we covered last week, the Red Foxes won their first regular-season title in 2004. The crown was shared with Siena, which earned the #1 seed in the MAAC Championship by virtue of its season sweep of Marist. The Red Foxes were seeded second. Their two regular-season games with Siena were competitive, but the Saints had the following in their favor entering the championship:
 

• Pedigree: Siena had appeared in three straight MAAC finals, with a championship in 2001.
• Streak: At this time, Siena had a 16-game winning streak against Marist, which dated back to 1996.
• Home Court: The championship was held at Pepsi (now MVP) Arena, just five-and-a-half miles from Siena's campus and the site of the Saints' regular-season home win over the Red Foxes.

 
On the other hand, Giorgis had a team on a mission. In the Red Foxes' first five seasons in the MAAC, they went 0-5 in tournament play. The program had an opening-round win in Giorgis' first season, but had not reached a MAAC semifinal to this point. That changed quickly, as Marist ousted defending champion Manhattan with an efficient 60-49 victory in the quarterfinal round.
 
In the semifinals, sixth-seeded Saint Peter's loomed. The Peahens, as they were called then, were guided by legendary head coach Mike Granelli, a nine-time MAAC champion. Marist seized control of the lead in the first half and had an answer for every Saint Peter's run. A 62-54 win put the Red Foxes in the first MAAC championship game in program history.
 
And their opponent wasn't Siena.
 
Fourth-seeded Canisius defeated the Saints by a score of 81-72 in the other semifinal. The Golden Griffins were a program on the rise under head coach Mike Decillis, and featured MAAC Player of the Year and Co-Defensive Player of the Year Jenel Stevens.
 
In the championship game, the Red Foxes had several surges, but the Golden Griffins didn't let them out of their sight. A 12-point first-half Marist lead was countered with a 10-0 Canisius run. The Red Foxes lead was back at 10 after 20 minutes, and reached a game high of 13 early in the second half. Canisius dug in, and it was clear this one was going down to the wire as the final minutes approached.
 
The Golden Griffins got within one on a Stevens basket with 55 seconds left. On Marist's next possession, Maureen Magarity tied up Lonnie Brown going for a rebound, and the possession arrow gave the ball to the Red Foxes. Stephanie Del Preore's 29^th and 30^th points of the contest came on two free throws with 18 seconds left, but Brown had a putback on Canisius' next possession. With six seconds left, Nina Vecchio went 1-for-2 from the line to put Marist up two.
 
On Canisius' final possession, a mid-range runner from Becky Zak came up short.
 
Marist 76, Canisius 74. The Red Foxes never trailed in the game, and they were going dancing for the first time in program history.
 
Del Preore, who finished the championship game with 30 points and 16 rebounds, was Tournament MVP. Magarity, who had 18 points and five rebounds in the final, was named to the MAAC All-Tournament Team.
 

Epilogue

In its first NCAA Tournament, Marist earned a #14 seed and was rewarded with some warm weather. The Red Foxes flew to Tempe, Arizona to face third-seeded Oklahoma in what would be the first of several match-ups with the Sooners over the next decade.
 
Oklahoma led by 20 midway through the second half, but Marist used a 15-0 run to close within five with four minutes to go. Ultimately, clutch free throw shooting by the Sooners propelled them to a 58-45 victory.
 

Fun Facts

• Del Preore's 30 points and 16 rebounds in the MAAC final were not her highest totals of the season. In a remarkable performance at Rider on Jan. 31, she tallied 31 points, 21 rebounds, four blocked shots, and four steals. The 21-rebound game remains a single-game program record. On this day, Del Preore also scored her 1,000^th career point.
• The Marist-Saint Peter's semifinal was the last game of Granelli's storied coaching career, as he retired that summer. His nine championships remained the MAAC record until Giorgis won his 10^th in 2014.
• Prior to the 2003-04 season, Decillis had announced his retirement at the end of the season. The '04 MAAC final was his last game as a collegiate head coach.
• As for Siena, the Saints traveled to Marist for the conference opener of the 2004-05 season. On a night when the '04 team received their championship rings, the Saints erased a 12-point deficit in the final three minutes and prevailed in overtime for their 17^th straight win over the Red Foxes. The next meeting between the teams took place at the Pepsi Center on Feb. 10, 2005. The Red Foxes won, 62-44, for their first of 25 straight wins over the Saints, a streak that lasted until 2016.

 

Coming Up Next

The Red Foxes return to the winners' circle – and stay there for nine years.