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 |Week Four: '06 MAAC Championship | Week Five: '07 MAAC Championship | Week Six: First NCAA Tournament Win
 
POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – It's unclear how much anyone in the Marist travel party slept on the night of March 17, 2007.
 
On the night of the Red Foxes' first NCAA Tournament win in program history – on St. Patrick's Day, no less – there was much rejoicing to be had upon the team's return to the Santa Clara Marriott. The players could turn on SportsCenter and see themselves and enjoy these moments with their families. Many recounted the joyous events of the evening. Some looked ahead at the next task at hand. Others waited until the morning for that.
 
By the time the sun rose over the Pacific coast on March 18, the Marist coaching staff of Brian Giorgis, Megan Gebbia, Jada Pierce, and Erin Leger was locked in on the Red Foxes' next opponent. The match-up was as formidable as it was fascinating.
 
Fifth-seeded Middle Tennessee State was enjoying its best season in school history at 30-3 and was riding the nation's longest winning streak at 27 games going into the second-round contest with the Red Foxes. The Blue Raiders were coming off an 85-46 first-round win over Gonzaga. Second-year head coach Rick Insell, who arrived after winning 775 games at Shelbyville High School in Tennessee, deployed a ferocious pressing defense. The Blue Raiders forced nearly 27 turnovers per game, and Gonzaga committed 37 against them in round one. Additionally, the dynamic duo of Chrissy Givens and Amber Holt combined to average nearly 40 points per game.
 
Over the course of his tenure, Giorgis has occasionally quipped that when he arrived at Marist, the only thing the Red Foxes led the nation in was turnovers. By his fifth season, Giorgis' starting five included three natural point guards in Alisa Kresge, Nikki Flores, and Julianne Viani. The Red Foxes' fortunes had shifted 180 degrees. Marist was now leading the nation in turnovers – as in, committing the fewest of any team per game.
 
The game plan was set, and after a practice which included the Red Foxes going against seven defenders to simulate the Blue Raiders' pressure, it was time for the irresistible force to truly meet the immovable object.
 
The Red Foxes didn't budge.
 
Marist jumped out to an eight-point lead near the midway point of the first half. MTSU countered with a 9-0 run to briefly take the lead, but the Red Foxes shut out the Blue Raiders over the final four minutes of the first half and took a 40-29 lead to the locker room.
 
MTSU backed off its vaunted press and made several runs in the second half, but the Red Foxes had answers at every turn. The Blue Raiders' final push saw them cut their deficit to five with just under eight minutes to play.
 
Fear not, Red Fox faithful. Lynzee Johnson was determined to make her homecoming game a reality.
 
Ever confident and charismatic, the Bellbrook, Ohio native had established herself as a valuable contributor off the bench as a freshman. On this night, she entered the game for the first time with 8:50 left in the second half, with a Sweet Sixteen game 17 miles from her home hanging in the balance. Nervous was not part of her vocabulary, but when she uncharacteristically passed up an open three shortly after coming in, she heard about it. Kresge was first. Giorgis, characteristically unfiltered, reminded Johnson that she "wasn't in for her defense."
 
On Marist's next possession, Johnson drained a corner three. She then converted a three-point play after a steal from Kresge the next time down the floor. On the next trip down, her pass set up a Rachele Fitz layup. These plays keyed a 10-0 Marist run, and the Red Foxes led by double digits the rest of the way.
 
Marist 73, Middle Tennessee State 59. The Red Foxes were headed to Dayton to face top-seeded Tennessee in the Sweet Sixteen. They executed the game plan to perfection and committed just 12 turnovers. Flores shot 8-for-12 and scored a career-high 21 points. Meg Dahlman had 13 points and nine rebounds. Viani shot 3-for-4 from three and scored 13. Kresge had nine assists, and held Givens to 16 points, seven below her average. Holt was held to six points on 2-for-10 shooting.
 

Epilogue

Our oral history from 2017 run sums up the whirlwind of what transpired the next several days. The short version:
 

• Tuesday: Bus to Oakland to fly home, see Flores on the cover of USA Today (with Dahlman happily telling anyone who didn't see it), fly to MacArthur Airport in Islip, bus home, greeted by adoring fans at the McCann Center.
• Wednesday: Handle countless requests, prepare for Tennessee.
• Thursday: See Wednesday.
• Friday: Charter to Dayton.
• Saturday: Final preparations, including practice at UD Arena. That night, the Johnson family hosted the team for dinner. A Tennessee jacket was placed just outside the front door for everyone to step on before coming in. Indeed, a great time was had by all.

 

Afterword

The following day, the Red Foxes' historic run came to an end. Tennessee jumped out to a 22-5 lead. The Red Foxes fought until the end and outscored the Volunteers in the second half, but Tennessee prevailed by a score of 65-46.
 
Dahlman led Marist with 16 points and eight rebounds. Candace Parker led Tennessee with 16 points and nine boards.
 
Marist concluded the season ranked #22 in the final USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll, the program's first national ranking in its history.
 

Fun Facts

• Marist was the third 13^th seed to reach the Sweet Sixteen in NCAA Tournament history. None have made it since.
• The 2006-07 season was Jada Pierce's lone one on Giorgis' staff. Stops as an assistant at UMass, Mount St. Mary's, Army, and Saint Joseph's ensued before she was named head coach at Niagara in 2015. Her Purple Eagles will take on Marist in Giorgis' final home game on Feb. 25, 2023.
• Marist was not the only double-digit seat that was heading to the Sweet Sixteen after a stay at the Santa Clara Marriott in 2007. Florida State, seeded 10^th, knocked out Old Dominion and host Stanford to advance. Nine years later, the hotel proved to be good luck for the Denver Broncos, who set up shop there prior to defeating the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50.
• Tennessee went on to win the national championship in '07, with Candace Parker being named Most Outstanding Player.
• In the 2007-08 season, Amber Holt led the nation in scoring at 27.4 points per game.

 

Coming Up Next

The Sweet Sixteen season's encore season brings more program firsts.