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 | Week 11: '10 MAAC Championship
 
POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – It is a testament to the work done by Brian Giorgis and his coaching staff that the Marist women's basketball program could lose its all-time leading scorer and rebounder, and not miss a beat.
 
The 2010-11 season marked Giorgis' ninth with the Red Foxes. Rachele Fitz was now playing professionally in Ukraine after four brilliant seasons in Poughkeepsie. But a deep and experienced core remained, and reinforcements were on the way.
 
Marist was unanimously picked first in the MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll for the fourth straight year. Also for the fourth straight year, two Red Foxes were named First Team Preseason All-MAAC. Senior Erica Allenspach was Preseason Player of the Year, and junior Corielle Yarde joined her on the first team.
 
This edition of the Red Foxes had experience, depth, stability, efficiency, and toughness.
 

• Experience: The starting lineup contained four upperclassmen. In addition to Allenspach and Yarde, junior Brandy Gang turned in an All-MAAC season up front, and senior Elise Caron led the team in assists while being an outstanding defender at point guard. The lone underclassman in the opening five was Kate Oliver, and the sophomore was now a two-year starter at center.
• Depth: Caron re-claimed the starting point guard role from junior Kristine Best, who provided an assist-to-turnover ratio of nearly 3-1 in 14 minutes per game off the bench. Senior Maria Laterza was experienced in the post, as was junior Emily Stallings. Sophomore Kelsey Beynnon, who stood 6-foot-2, began an upward career arc that would see her improve each season as a Red Fox. The Marist staff once again struck gold with its recruiting class. Casey Dulin, Leanne Ockenden, and Emma O'Connor all contributed as freshmen, and all would become All-MAAC performers as their careers progressed.
• Stability: The quintet of Caron-Allenspach-Yarde-Gang-Oliver started 33 of the Red Foxes' 34 games. The lone exception was when Laterza started in place of Oliver on Senior Day.
• Efficiency: The Red Foxes' 11.2 turnovers per game were the fewest in the country.
• Toughness: Marist also led the nation in scoring defense. The Red Foxes allowed just 49.7 points per game, and the opposition's field goal percentage was .332.

 
As had become customary, Marist put together a challenging non-conference schedule. The Red Foxes fell in their season opener to 14^th-ranked St. John's in a tournament at Kansas State but rebounded to defeat Grambling the next day. The following weekend brought another tournament where Marist recorded convincing victories over host Vermont and Dartmouth.
 
The good news kept coming in waves. The Red Foxes won at Villanova by 11 on the Sunday of Thanksgiving Weekend. Giorgis received a contract extension through 2017 just four days later. Although Marist fell to St. Bonaventure 45-40 on Dec. 4, that proved to be just a bump in the road as the Red Foxes responded with their longest winning streak in program history, a 27-game march that lasted three-and-a-half months.
 
Win number one of the streak came in a 57-40 triumph at Hartford as Allenspach scored her 1,000^th point. Giorgis' 200^th victory at Marist in the Red Foxes' next contest, a 16-point home win over Boston University. The following weekend brought a trip to Las Vegas for the Duel in the Desert, where the Red Foxes showed the country what kind of team they had in a three-day span.
 
The Red Foxes led wire-to-wire against Louisville in a 74-68 win which featured 25 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and two steals from Yarde. The next night, Marist earned its first regular-season win against a ranked foe when the Red Foxes toppled #21 Nebraska, 65-60. Marist overcame a seven-point first half deficit as Allenspach led the way with 20 points. The Red Foxes then won the tournament championship with a 78-70 triumph over Houston behind Allenspach's career-high 34 points.
 
At this point, the only thing that could slow down the Red Foxes was the weather. Marist was slated to make another trip west to face Arizona State shortly after Christmas, but a blizzard belted the Northeast on Dec. 26, and left the Red Foxes unable to get a flight.
 
Marist opened MAAC play on Jan. 2 and achieved its second 18-0 conference record in the last four years. Just one of the 18 games, a 54-52 comeback win at Fairfield on Feb. 6, was decided by fewer than 10 points. The Red Foxes had eight conference wins by at least 20 points and held five straight opponents under 50 points in January.
 
The Red Foxes entered the top 25 of both major national polls in early February and were ranked in the top 20 of both by early March. Allenspach was named MAAC Player of the Year. Yarde was a First Team All-MAAC selection. In her first season as a starter, Gang was a Third Team All-MAAC choice. Giorgis was named MAAC Coach of the Year for the fifth time.
 

MAAC Championship

The ensuing MAAC Championship run was truly the crowning achievement of Allenspach's spectacular career. As a team, the Red Foxes were not at their best offensively in their three tournament games. They shot under 40 percent from the field in each contest. There was only one occasion in the three games that a Red Fox other than Allenspach scored in double figures, as Yarde had 10 points and 10 rebounds against Siena in the semifinal round.
 
On the other hand, Allenspach was locked in. She drained all four of her three-point attempts and scored a game-high 16 against Saint Peter's in the quarterfinals. She tied her career high with 34 points as she went 6-for-7 from three against Siena in the semifinals. The Red Foxes trailed for much of the first half against Loyola in the championship game, but Allenspach scored 21 on just eight field goal attempts in Marist's 63-45 victory.
 
In the championship, Allenspach averaged 23.7 points and shot .727 (24-for-33) from the field and .800 (12-for-15) from three-point range. That's the definition of an MVP, and her heroics led Marist to its sixth straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
 

Fun Facts

• On Feb. 18, Rachele Fitz returned to Marist to have her #12 retired prior to the Red Foxes' win over Manhattan.
• The championship game victory over Loyola marked the Red Foxes' 30^th win of the season. The 2010-11 team joined the 2007-08 squad in the 30-win club.
• Two of Marist's Duel in the Desert opponents (Houston and Louisville) reached the NCAA Tournament, with the Cardinals advancing to the Sweet Sixteen as a #7 seed.

 

Coming Up Next

The Red Foxes earn their fourth NCAA Tournament victory in five seasons.