The 2007-08 Marist women’s basketball team’s season was just as magical as its 2006-07 campaign, with the 13 team members setting the standard for any team to come. Finishing the season 32-3 was not just luck, but pure “work, heart and desire,” said Élise Caron, freshmen guard.
“The last two seasons have been indescribable,” said Nikki Flores, senior guard. “The things my team has accomplished are things that most teams dream of.”
Last year, The Red Foxes advanced to the NCAA tournament as a No. 13 seed and shocked Ohio State and Middle Tennessee State in the first two rounds of the tournament, going all the way to the Sweet Sixteen where they lost to eventual NCAA champion Tennessee. This year, the Red Foxes were seeded seventh and opened against 10th-seeded DePaul. Although they trailed by 13 with 14 minutes to go, they dug down deep and came back to beat the Blue Demons 76-57. They moved on to face No. 2 seed LSU, and although they were eliminated from the tournament against the Lady Tigers on March 22, they set a new single-season program record for wins, with 32, and consecutive wins, with a 22-game streak.
The season saw forward Rachele Fitz become the first sophomore in program history to score 1,000 points. According to Fitz, she didn’t see it coming, and said she considers it another “cool thing to add to her basketball career.” Senior Meg Dahlman also scored her 1,000th point and ended her Marist career with 1,160 points.
The seniors who are leaving said they will miss more than playing – they will miss the girls who became more than just teammates when they put on their white-and-red Marist jerseys. “When I came to Marist I immediately gained 12 sisters, no question asked,” said Dahlman.
This year’s freshmen have looked to the their teammates for advice and absorbed all the information they could. “’Even if it is hard, keep playing as hard as you can, because your turn will come. Everybody has been a freshman, so we all know how you feel. Never give up, and do what you do best,’” Caron said, remembering the advice the seniors have given her.
For freshmen Sarah Huff and Caron, their best game memories have been playing in their first NCAA Tournament and winning their first NCAA game against DePaul. According to Fitz, she didn’t realize they were down by as much as 13 points during the game, but she did know that they needed to step it up in the second half.
With another strong season, the Marist women showed they can play with many of the top teams in the country; ending the season ranked No. 23 nationally was not a mix-up. Yet this team didn’t reach its status alone – the fans have definitely helped. “Without these fans, we wouldn’t be as successful as we are,” said Flores.
Flores and Dahlman have watched the community support increase and have also seen a change in the student fan support, which they hope will continue to grow. According to Fitz, the fan support makes them want to put on a show and perform at their highest level.
And it would be remiss to fail to mention the coaching staff, starting with head coach Brian Giorgis, who has not only helped the women mature into wonderful basketball players but has also helped the women’s basketball program at Marist grow. Assistant head coach Megan Gebbia and assistant coaches Keila Whittington and Erin Legar also contributed to the success.
According to Caron, she did not know much about Giorgis, before coming to Marist, but she had heard that in addition to his coaching, he could help her become a better player and person. “Basketball is important to him (Coach Giorgis), but school is too, and I wanted to be good at both,” she said.
The team’s incoming freshmen class is the first in Marist history to be nationally ranked (Blue Star Report ranks it 50th in the country) and nine of this season’s players will return next year: Julianne Viani, Rachele Fitz, Brittany Engle, Lynzee Johnson, Erica Allenspach, Élise Caron, Maria Laterza, Sarah Huff and Courtney Kolesar.
Let’s see what they can pull off with a little more hard work.
(Tiana Steward is a student at Marist College and a Dutchess Beat intern)