Marist women’s basketball dropped its third straight game, losing to Quinnipiac 61-50 on Thursday night at the People’s Bank Center in Hamden. The Red Foxes still don’t have a road win in MAAC play.
It was a similar script for Marist. They started well, holding the lead well into the third quarter before the offense began to fizzle and fail once again. Despite shooting 56 percent in the first quarter, the Red Foxes shot 36 percent for the game, 3-for-21 from the three-point line, and only scored 19 points in the second half.
The Red Foxes did get Brian Giorgis back on the sidelines, but found themselves extremely shorthanded without the services of Kiara Fisher (out for the season) and Zaria Shazer (missed the game with a non-COVID illness). With two top scorers missing, the Red Foxes seemed like they were going to have even more trouble putting points on the board.
Because basketball makes complete sense, the Red Foxes came out hot from the field. Marist did most of its work inside the arc, moving and cutting beautifully en route to a 13-0 run that helped the visiting team lead 21-15 after the first quarter.
The Red Foxes (6-13, 4-7 in the MAAC) shot nine-for-16 from the floor in the first quarter, but couldn’t sustain that pace for the rest of the game.
Unfortunately for Marist, the worst time to make a big run is early in the game. The Bobcats came all the way back after being down 26 to win at Niagara on Saturday. They didn’t need such a rapid effort to come back from nine behind against a struggling Marist squad.
Sam Bailey hit a three early in the second quarter to give the Red Foxes their largest lead of the game at 24-15. A three-point play from Trinasia Kennedy made it 31-25 with just under two minutes to play, but a three from Rose Caverly made it 31-29 at halftime.
Kennedy hit a three on the first possession of the second half to make it 34-29 and continued to hold a tenuous lead at 41-39 with 5:09 left in the third. Then, a Marist special ensued.
This season, a Marist special is when the Red Foxes and their opposition go scoreless for an extended period. There was under a minute left when the Bobcats tied the game at 41 and Mikala Morris put the Bobcats up 43-41 with a layup going into the fourth.
Anabel Ellison had a chance to give the Red Foxes a 46-45 lead if she could convert a three-point play but missed. The Bobcats made sure Marist didn’t sniff the lead again, reeling off a 12-0 run to take command with under three minutes remaining.
Quinnipiac (13-7, 8-3 in the MAAC) chose the right time to make its charge. The Red Foxes were a spent force and didn’t have enough firepower to get back into the game, staying on 45 points for six minutes of game action.
The Bobcats only had MAAC first-teamer Mackenzie DeWees for one minute of the game. She suffered a lower-body injury in the early going and never returned.
Without Shazer in the mix, Quinnipiac’s Mikala Morris was able to roam the paint uncontested against the undersized Red Foxes. Last season, Marist made Morris a non-factor in the two meetings because of the size it had with Willow Duffell and Caitlin Weimar. Bailey could not provide that same challenge for the Red Foxes, Morris notched a double-double with 15 points and 15 boards, adding four blocks.
The Bobcats won the rebounding margin 42-22. Bailey and Erin Fox were the only two players taller than 6-foot who saw action for Marist.
The rest of Quinnipiac’s roster stepped up to fill the void left by DeWees’s absence. Every player who saw time scored. Amani Free had 12, and Caverly and Mackenzie Helms each had eight points to lead the supporting cast.
Kennedy was the only Marist player in double-figures with a game-high 17 on 7-for-16 shooting. Julianna Bonilla, starting for Shazer, was the next leading scorer with eight.
Win no. 450 still evades Giorgis, who will make another attempt at it on Saturday night at home to Rider. It will be a critical clash between conference middleweights and seems likely to impact seeding for the MAAC Tournament. The game will tip at 7 p.m. inside the McCann Center.
Marist women’s basketball dropped its third straight game, losing to Quinnipiac 61-50 on Thursday night at the People’s Bank Center in Hamden. The Red Foxes still don’t have a road win in MAAC play.
It was a similar script for Marist. They started well, holding the lead well into the third quarter before the offense began to fizzle and fail once again. Despite shooting 56 percent in the first quarter, the Red Foxes shot 36 percent for the game, 3-for-21 from the three-point line, and only scored 19 points in the second half.
The Red Foxes did get Brian Giorgis back on the sidelines, but found themselves extremely shorthanded without the services of Kiara Fisher (out for the season) and Zaria Shazer (missed the game with a non-COVID illness). With two top scorers missing, the Red Foxes seemed like they were going to have even more trouble putting points on the board.
Because basketball makes complete sense, the Red Foxes came out hot from the field. Marist did most of its work inside the arc, moving and cutting beautifully en route to a 13-0 run that helped the visiting team lead 21-15 after the first quarter.
The Red Foxes (6-13, 4-7 in the MAAC) shot nine-for-16 from the floor in the first quarter, but couldn’t sustain that pace for the rest of the game.
Unfortunately for Marist, the worst time to make a big run is early in the game. The Bobcats came all the way back after being down 26 to win at Niagara on Saturday. They didn’t need such a rapid effort to come back from nine behind against a struggling Marist squad.
Sam Bailey hit a three early in the second quarter to give the Red Foxes their largest lead of the game at 24-15. A three-point play from Trinasia Kennedy made it 31-25 with just under two minutes to play, but a three from Rose Caverly made it 31-29 at halftime.
Kennedy hit a three on the first possession of the second half to make it 34-29 and continued to hold a tenuous lead at 41-39 with 5:09 left in the third. Then, a Marist special ensued.
This season, a Marist special is when the Red Foxes and their opposition go scoreless for an extended period. There was under a minute left when the Bobcats tied the game at 41 and Mikala Morris put the Bobcats up 43-41 with a layup going into the fourth.
Anabel Ellison had a chance to give the Red Foxes a 46-45 lead if she could convert a three-point play but missed. The Bobcats made sure Marist didn’t sniff the lead again, reeling off a 12-0 run to take command with under three minutes remaining.
Quinnipiac (13-7, 8-3 in the MAAC) chose the right time to make its charge. The Red Foxes were a spent force and didn’t have enough firepower to get back into the game, staying on 45 points for six minutes of game action.
The Bobcats only had MAAC first-teamer Mackenzie DeWees for one minute of the game. She suffered a lower-body injury in the early going and never returned.
Without Shazer in the mix, Quinnipiac’s Mikala Morris was able to roam the paint uncontested against the undersized Red Foxes. Last season, Marist made Morris a non-factor in the two meetings because of the size it had with Willow Duffell and Caitlin Weimar. Bailey could not provide that same challenge for the Red Foxes, Morris notched a double-double with 15 points and 15 boards, adding four blocks.
The Bobcats won the rebounding margin 42-22. Bailey and Erin Fox were the only two players taller than 6-foot who saw action for Marist.
The rest of Quinnipiac’s roster stepped up to fill the void left by DeWees’s absence. Every player who saw time scored. Amani Free had 12, and Caverly and Mackenzie Helms each had eight points to lead the supporting cast.
Kennedy was the only Marist player in double-figures with a game-high 17 on 7-for-16 shooting. Julianna Bonilla, starting for Shazer, was the next leading scorer with eight.
Win no. 450 still evades Giorgis, who will make another attempt at it on Saturday night at home to Rider. It will be a critical clash between conference middleweights and seems likely to impact seeding for the MAAC Tournament. The game will tip at 7 p.m. inside the McCann Center.
Edited by Connor Kurpat
Photo from Marist Athletics
