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Saints Fall Just Short in Comeback Bid Against Marist, 79-70
Feb. 3, 2008
Loudonville, N.Y. - For the second time in nine days, Marist reached double figures in three pointers, converting on 10 of their 23 attempts which proved to be just enough to hold off a furious Siena comeback attempt in a 79-70 Red Foxes triumph this afternoon at the Alumni Recreation Center. Shondaya Burrell tied a season high with 25 points for the Saints (7-14, 3-8) who dropped their fourth straight game. "Shondaya was wonderful today," remarked head coach Gina Castelli. "She was in control of herself, distributed the ball well, took good shots and did an outstanding job defensively as well." The Green and Gold took a 20-19 lead at the 8:52 mark of the first half following a Sarah Fullmer put back. The Red Foxes (21-2, 11-0), who entered the game having made 49 threes in their previous five games, immediately answered back hitting three consecutive trifectas to regain a 28-20 lead. The Saints pulled within four points with 1:17 remaining (34-30) but Marist reserve Sarah Smrdel made back-to-back threes in the waning seconds to put Marist up 40-30 at the half. In the second stanza, the Saints hung tough but Marist's three point barrage catapulted them to a 65-47 advantage at the eight minute mark following a Julianne Viani three. Siena however fought back with an 11-2 run capped by a Heather Stec elbow jumper with 4:24 remaining to get within single digits at 67-58. This would be as close as the Saints could get as the Red Foxes fended off a late rally attempt to secure the victory. The win marked the 11th in a row for Marist and tenth straight on the road. "Our team played really hard and stuck with the plan today all the way through which allowed us to stay close," added Castelli. "Marist is tough to stop when they are making threes, but overall I was very happy with the effort and hope to build on this going forward."
Marist's MAAC Preseason Player of the Year Rachele Fitz finished with 27 points to lead all scorers, including 11 of 12 from the charity stripe. Viani added 16 to go along with five assists. Laura Menty and Liga Alpe-Luka joined Burrell posting double figures as each tallied ten. Alpe-Luka made all three of her shots from the field in finishing with a new career high in scoring. Despite allowing 78 points, the Saints played tough defense throughout, limiting Marist to just 39.6% from the floor while shooting an impressive 47.1% (24-51) in defeat. The Red Foxes had entered the game shooting a league best 43.8% from the field. The Saints open a three game road swing beginning Friday night in Buffalo against Canisius. Tip time is set for 7 p.m. from the Koessler Athletic Center. |
