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 | Week Seven: Red Foxes Reach Sweet Sixteen | Week Eight: '08 MAAC Championship | Week Nine: '08 NCAA Tournament Win Over DePaul | Week 10: '09 MAAC Championship
 
POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – The 2009-10 season was Brian Giorgis' eighth as head coach of the Marist women's basketball program. While it marked the final season for the Red Foxes' all-time leading scorer, a young core was establishing itself to continue the program's championship tradition.
 
Rachele Fitz, who reached 1,000 points as a sophomore and broke the program's all-time scoring record as a junior, was the lone senior in a starting lineup that was actually younger than the previous year's version that included three sophomores. Now a junior, Erica Allenspach had established herself as an All-MAAC performer who shined in big games. As a sophomore, Corielle Yarde took a giant step forward and became one of the MAAC's top players. Fellow sophomore Kristine Best joined the opening five at point guard. At center, 6-foot-4 Kate Oliver arrived from Australia and was the Red Foxes' leader in blocked shots as a freshman.
 
As Marist's national profile grew, so did the strength of the program's non-conference schedule. For the second time in five years, Marist took part in the Preseason WNIT with a home opener against North Carolina A&T. The triumvirate of Fitz (30 points), Allenspach (20), and Yarde (10) combined for 75 percent of Marist's points in the Red Foxes' 80-64 triumph. Although Marist came up just short in a 55-50 defeat at West Virginia three days later, the Red Foxes rebounded from a 16-point deficit for a home victory against Bowling Green the following weekend behind 28 points from Fitz.
 
Thanksgiving weekend was spent in the Bahamas as the Red Foxes played in the Junkanoo Jam. Although a rally came up just short against Oklahoma State, Yarde scored a game-high 28, and Allenspach stuffed the stat sheet with 10 points, 10 assists, six blocked shots, three rebounds, and two steals. Marist rebounded for a win over George Washington the next day behind 28 points and nine rebounds by Fitz, who shot 11-for-12 from the field and 6-for-6 from the line.
 
On Dec. 9, Marist welcomed 16^th-ranked Oklahoma to the McCann Center. Playing before a boisterous crowd of 2,828 fans, Fitz scored her 2,000^th career point and the Red Foxes led by 10 midway through the second half. However, the Sooners tied the game late in regulation and prevailed in overtime, 80-71.
 
Marist stood at 4-4 after the Oklahoma game, but the Red Foxes then reeled off their sixth winning streak of at least 10 games in the last five years. This one reached 13 before a loss at Niagara on Jan. 31 that snapped a 23-game road winning streak against MAAC foes. However, the Red Foxes went undefeated at home in conference games and earned the #1 seed in the MAAC Championship for the sixth straight year. Marist's 15-3 mark in MAAC play was two games ahead of Iona.
 
As for Fitz, the honors kept rolling in:
 

• Feb. 21 – On Senior Day for her, Lynzee Johnson, Brittany Engle, and manager Pat Massaroni, it was announced that #12 would be the first number in program history to be retired.
• Feb. 23 – Fitz was named an Academic All-American.
• March 4 – Fitz became the first women's basketball player in MAAC history to be named MAAC Player of the Year three times.
• March 7 – Fitz became the first player in program history to be named MAAC Tournament MVP twice.
• Following the season, Fitz was named Associated Press Honorable Mention All-America for the second straight year, First Team All-Met Basketball Writers Association, and MAAC Student-Athlete of the Year.

 
Allenspach was named First Team All-MAAC, and Yarde earned Second Team All-MAAC honors.
 
The Red Foxes cruised to their fifth straight conference title, as they trailed for a grand total of 3:42 in their three games in the MAAC Championship. Their victories came by a combined total of 58 points and they did not allow the opposition to reach 50 points in any game.
 
Yarde's 16 points and nine rebounds led the way in a 57-38 quarterfinal win over Canisius. Fitz (25 points, 12 rebounds) and Yarde (12 points, 10 rebounds) both had double-doubles in a 69-47 semifinal win over Niagara. Yarde (17 points), Fitz (15), and Allenspach (13 plus five steals) combined for 45 points in the 66-49 championship game win over Fairfield. In addition to Fitz's MVP honor, Yarde and Allenspach were both named to the All-Tournament Team.
 

NCAA Tournament

For the third time in four years, Marist was headed to California for NCAA Tournament play. The Red Foxes were a #12 seed for the second straight year and matched up with Georgetown in Berkeley.
 
The Red Foxes scored the game's first seven points and built a 10-point advantage by the 13:26 mark of the first half. However, Georgetown took the lead with a 7-0 run late in the first half, and then scored the first 13 points of the second half.
 
The Hoyas prevailed by a score of 62-42. Yarde led all scorers with 15. Allenspach had 11. In her final game, Fitz had 10 points and nine rebounds.
 
With a record of 116-21 from 2006-10, Fitz, Johnson, and Engle graduated as the winningest class in program history.
 

Fun Facts

• Rachele Fitz finished her career with 2,447 points and 1,066 rebounds. She remains Marist's all-time leader in both categories. Entering the 2022-23 season, she ranks third in scoring and ninth in rebounding all-time in MAAC history.
• After two years at the MAAC, Alisa Kresge returned to Marist in the 2009-10 season as an assistant coach. She remained on staff for seven years before heading to Vermont, where she has been the Catamounts' head coach for the past four seasons.
• Cori Chambers also joined the staff in 2009-10 as the program's first director of operations and remained in that role for two seasons. 
• Pat Massaroni was a manager for the Marist men's basketball team in his freshman, sophomore, and junior years prior to joining the women's program as a senior. He is in his eighth season as head boys' basketball coach at Archbishop Stepinac High School and was honored with Marist College's Young Alumnus Award in 2022.

 

Coming Up Next

The Red Foxes roar through the 2010-11 season, and Erica Allenspach turns in a performance for the ages as the program wins its sixth straight MAAC championship.