The Marist women’s basketball team made history on March 1, becoming the first team in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference to go 18-0 since the league expanded to 10 teams in 1997 with a 71-58 over Saint Peter’s at the McCann Center. Seniors Meg Dahlman (Spencerport), Nikki Flores (Montvale, N.J.), Sarah Smrdel (Mentor, Ohio) and Alexis Waters (Lansing, Mich.) were honored before the game, then helped the Red Foxes make history with the 13-point win.
Dahlman and Flores each scored 17 points to lead Marist to its 28th win of the season. Dahlman was perfect from the field, making all four of her shots and going 7-for-8 at the free throw line.
Flores was 6-of-14 from the field and had a game-high five assists with only one turnover. Sophomore forward Rachele Fitz (Seven Hills, Ohio) scored in double figures for the 29th straight game, with 16 points off the bench as Lynzee Johnson (Bellbrook, Ohio) scored 12 points and pulled down a game-high seven rebounds.
Marist started the game with four straight points from Dahlman, but Saint Peter’s answered with baskets from Charlene Riddick and Johnell Burts to tie the game. The two teams traded the lead six times in the first half and had seven ties.
The Red Foxes got the lead to four, 13-9, with a pair of Fitz jumpers but the Peahens answered back with six straight points to take a 15-13 lead with 8:19 to go in the half. Dahlman would take the lead right back for Marist, knocking down her first three-pointer to make the score 16-15.
With the score tied at 17-17 with 3:44 to go in the first half, the Red Foxes and Peahens traded three-pointers to end the half. Johnson and Flores connected from beyond the arc for Marist as Tania Kennedy hit two threes for Saint Peter’s to tie the score at 23-23 going into halftime.
Marist and Saint Peter’s traded baskets to start the second half, playing to a 36-36 tie with 12:17 to go when Kennedy connected on another triple for the Peahens. Dahlman answered with her second three of the game to give the Red Foxes a 39-36 lead with 11:44 to go. Marist finally started to pull away with 6:39 to go in the game.
After Burts made a pair of free throws, the Red Foxes went on an 18-3 run powered by six points from Johnson and four points each from Flores and Fitz to take a 68-53 lead with 1:36 to go, sealing the undefeated conference season.
The Red Foxes moved to 28-2 with the win. Marist shot 47.1 percent from the field in the game, including a 61.5 percent mark in the second half. They also shot 50 percent from the three-point arc, going 7-of-14. Marist held a 36-29 rebounding edge and scored 16 second-chance points off 12 offensive rebounds.
Saint Peter’s (18-11, 10-8 MAAC) shot 35.8 percent from the field in the game. The Peahens forced 12 Marist turnovers while only committing seven. Tania Kennedy led all scorers with 18 points, as Burts scored 16. Lauma Reke added 10 points and a team-high six rebounds.
Marist now heads to Albany, site of the 2008 Citizens Bank MAAC Women’s Basketball Championships, as the top seed.
The Red Foxes will open play at the Times Union Center on Friday, March 7 when they take on the winner of the first-round game between Niagara and Canisius at 1:30 p.m.
Behind Farmer, men roll over Loyola
Powered by a career-high 20 points from senior swingman Ben Farmer (Clinton, Conn.), the Marist men’s basketball team closed out the regular season with an 82-64 triumph over Loyola at the McCann Center on March 2. The Red Foxes finished the regular season at 17-13 overall and 11-7 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Marist is the No. 6 seed in this weekend’s MAAC Tournament, and will face No. 3 Niagara on March 8 at 10 p.m. in a game televised on MSG.
Prior to the game, Marist honored the seven members of its senior class – Farmer, manager Ashley Mahon, forward Ryan Stilphen (Bay Village, Ohio), center Spongy Benjamin (St. Francis Village Erin, Trinidad), guard Louie McCroskey (Bronx), forward Shae McNamara (Milwaukee, Wisc.) and guard Joe Keegan (Brick, N.J.). The Red Foxes’ seniors combined for 55 points and 29 rebounds.
The Red Foxes had five double-digit scorers. Benjamin finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. Red-shirt sophomore point guard David Devezin (Houston, Texas) added 14 points, four assists and three rebounds. Freshman guard Jay Gavin score 13, and Stilphen tallied 10 points and nine rebounds.
After falling behind early by four on two occasions, the Red Foxes took the lead for good with 12:21 left in the first half on a basket by Gavin. That hoop was part of a 19-2 run for the Red Foxes.
A pair of Loyola three-pointers from Marquis Sullivan cut Marist’s lead to six at halftime, as the Red Foxes led 38-32. A jumper by Loyola’s Michael Tuck with 15:22 remaining cut Marist’s lead to 44-43, but the Red Foxes never surrendered the lead. A three-pointer by Farmer at the midway point of the second half put Marist up 59-54, and started the Red Foxes on an 18-3 run, which enabled them to put the game away. Marist’s largest lead was 19 points.
The Red Foxes shot 50 percent from both the field and three-point line while holding Loyola to a .393 shooting percentage. Sullivan, who hit six three-pointers, led the Greyhounds (18-13, 12-6) with 20 points.
In addition to his 20 points, Farmer also had a stellar day on the defensive end, as he held Gerald Brown, Loyola’s leading scorer, to 10 points on 3-for-11 shooting.