Red Foxes Scorched by the Sun Devils

The second game of Marist’s Arizona swing didn’t go any better than the first, as the Red Foxes fell to Arizona State 82-53 on Sunday in Tempe.

Marist entered the game reeling from a 78-36 defeat at Arizona, where they were outscored by 32 points in the second half. The Red Foxes were once again overmatched by a superior PAC-12 team, struggling mightily on the defensive end and not leading at any point during the 40 minutes.

Kendall Krick, playing about half an hour from her home in Chandler, Arizona, finished with seven points in a team-high 34 minutes of action. Last night, the Red Foxes had a team gathering at the Krick home. On Sunday, the team played in front of about 40 of her friends and family.

The Sun Devils (2-2) could only manage 44 points in a defeat at BYU earlier in the week. On Sunday, they eclipsed that total by halftime after going 10-for-17 when shooting from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes. They finished the game 30-of-64 from the floor and 13-of-31 from three, nearly equaling a school record for triples.

Jade Loville had a game-high 21 points for Arizona State, hitting five-of-six from beyond the arc. Mael Gilles added 14 and Jaddan Simmons chipped in with 10 in the victory. 

Marist committed a staggering 16 turnovers in the first half, and despite shooting 61 percent from the field, found themselves trailing 48-27 at half after the Sun Devils ended the second quarter on a 23-10 run.

The Red Foxes (2-3) turned in their best shooting performance of the year, finishing 47 percent from the field and making 5 of their 13 threes. Marist’s sloppiness with the ball helped explain why Arizona State shot the ball 24 more times than their visitors, as they committed a season-high 23 turnovers. 

Zaria Shazer had a team-high 12 points on five-of-nine shooting. Anabel Ellison added eight points but turned the ball over six times. Kiara Fisher struggled for the second consecutive game, finishing with two points.

Marist head coach Brian Giorgis gave Fisher the early yank, as she could not take care of the ball against the Sun Devils’ pressure defense. She equaled Ellison with six turnovers, but only in 14 minutes of action.

Arizona State continued to knock down shots at an alarming rate in the second half. They hit seven of their first ten shots of the second 20 minutes to extend their lead to 64-35 with three minutes left in the third quarter. They took a 69-42 lead into the fourth quarter. An early fourth-quarter run assured that Red Foxes had no way of getting back into the game.

Marist has likely played its two toughest games of the regular season this weekend. They still have plenty of strong mid-major competition left, but playing against two PAC-12 teams should only help the team improve in the long run.

The Red Foxes should be glad to head back to the east coast for Thanksgiving. They return to action next Sunday against a dangerous Central Michigan team. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the McCann Center.

Edited by Connor Kurpat

Photo from Marist Athletics