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 | Week Three: '04 MAAC Championship
 
POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – Although the Marist women's basketball team did not repeat as MAAC champion in the 2004-05 season, the groundwork was laid for the beginning of a dynasty.
 
Nikki Flores, Courtney Kolesar, Sarah Smrdel, and Alexis Waters joined the program as freshmen in 2004 and were key components of multiple championship teams. Meg Dahlman (Holy Cross) and Julianne Viani (Rhode Island) arrived as transfers, and while they sat out the 2004-05 season, they had three and four years remaining, respectively. Junior college transfer Fifi Camara proved to be one of the most talented players to wear a Marist uniform in her two years as a Red Fox.
 
Marist began the 2004-05 season 0-3 in MAAC play, with the three losses coming by a total of 10 points. As had occurred the previous year, once the calendar reached the second week in January, the Red Foxes stopped losing – this time almost literally. Led by First Team All-MAAC selections Camara and senior Kristin Keller, Marist won a program-record 16 straight games and earned its first outright MAAC regular-season title. Unfortunately, the streak ended with a 60-59 defeat to Canisius in the MAAC championship game.
 
Becky Zak, who had missed the shot at the buzzer in the '04 final, was the '05 Tournament MVP. The Golden Griffins had no seniors in 2004-05 and were subsequently picked first in the 2005-06 preseason poll, with Marist tabbed for second. The '04 and 05 championship games and two regular-season meetings in 2004-05 between Marist and Canisius were decided by a total of nine points, with each team winning on the other's home floor and earning one championship apiece. 
 
Head coach Brian Giorgis had put together an enhanced non-conference schedule at the start of his fourth season in 2005-06. Marist opened at UConn in the Preseason WNIT. The Red Foxes trailed by just three at halftime, which forced Geno Auriemma to deploy a five-guard look in the second half. Of course, one of his guards was 6-foot-3 Ann Strother. UConn ended up winning by 26.
 
Marist's next contest was the first collegiate home game for Poughkeepsie native Viani, as the Red Foxes matched up against Villanova, and Julianne's older sister, Jenna. Villanova won a hard-fought game by four. The Red Foxes fell to 0-4 with losses at New Hampshire and nationally-ranked New Mexico. In the second game of New Mexico's Thanksgiving Tournament, Dahlman's three-point play with 1:30 left gave Marist the lead for good in its 52-49 win over Idaho.
 
The Red Foxes caught fire after that. Starting with the Idaho game, Marist won 23 of its next 25.
 
The highly anticipated first Marist-Canisius game of the season took place on Jan. 7 in Buffalo. Both teams entered at 3-0 in MAAC play. The Red Foxes took control of the game with a 14-0 first-half run and rolled to a 65-40 victory. Camara scored 20. Kolesar came off the bench and hit four three-pointers. Alisa Kresge, in what would be one in a long line of great performances against Canisius (more on that below), had 12 assists and no turnovers.
 
Marist went 16-2 in MAAC play and earned the #1 seed by two games over Canisius. Camara was the Red Foxes' first MAAC Player of the Year, Kresge was named MAAC Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight year, and Giorgis was named MAAC Coach of the Year for the third straight year. He shared the honor with his MAAC semifinal opponent, Iona's Tony Bozzella.
 
The championship format included a double bye for the top seed, so Marist opened play in the semifinals against the Gaels. Trailing by one, Iona had the ball with the shot clock off and 26 seconds remaining. The Red Foxes stood their ground defensively and advanced to their third straight championship game with a 60-59 triumph.
 
And their opponent wasn't Canisius.
 
Under first-year head coach Joe Logan, third-seeded Loyola topped Canisius 76-66 in the semis. The Greyhounds were looking for their first MAAC championship since winning back-to-back titles in 1994 and 1995, when Logan was a student manager. But the Red Foxes were ready. An 18-0 run staked Marist to a 36-11 lead at the seven-minute mark of the first half. Marist led by 16 at halftime, but Loyola fought hard in the second half. The Greyhounds got to within four with 2:03 left, but the Red Foxes shut them out the rest of the way.
 
With a 68-57 victory, Marist had its second MAAC championship in three years. Dahlman was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. Flores and Smrdel were both named to the All-Tournament Team.
 

Epilogue

Marist was a #14 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and took the short trip to Trenton, New Jersey to face third-seeded Georgia. The Red Foxes' season came to an end with Georgia's 75-60 win, as Camara had 20 points and 10 rebounds in her final game at Marist.
 
Marist won a program-record 23 games in 2005-06. And the best was truly yet to come.
 

Fun Facts

• The 2006 season was not only Kristen Vilardi's senior year, but it was also the last of her eight consecutive seasons playing for Giorgis. Vilardi played at Our Lady of Lourdes from 1998-2002, committed to Marist under head coach Kristin Lamb, and then played at Marist under Giorgis from 2002-06.
• Due to a pair of departures, Brian Giorgis' coaching staff for the final three months of the 2005-06 season consisted of just two people.
  • Megan Gebbia was in her third year as assistant coach and was promoted to associate head coach the next summer. After 10 outstanding years at Marist, she went to a highly successful nine-year run as head coach at American before being hired at Wake Forest in the spring of 2022.
  • Erin Leger joined the program as a walk-on in Giorgis' first season. She gave up her senior year as a player to be on staff. You now know her as Erin Doughty, and you will know her as the Red Foxes' head coach once April 1, 2023 comes.
• In her nine career starts against Canisius, Kresge had 48 assists and three turnovers.

 

Coming Up Next

A new star arrives, and the Red Foxes put in overtime for back-to-back championships.