A difficult regular season for Marist women’s basketball came to an end with a 68-60 loss in overtime to Manhattan at the McCann Center on Saturday night.
“I thought this was a really gutty performance from our kids,” Marist head coach Brian Giorgis said. “And Kendall Krick had one of the best senior days I’ve ever seen.”
Krick was the lone Red Fox to be honored on senior night. Even though 20 defeats is the highest number of losses since 1987, Krick has still enjoyed a tremendously successful career. The Red Foxes reached the MAAC title game in her freshman year, went 26-4 before the pandemic ended her sophomore season, and played a crucial role on last year’s NCAA Tournament team.
Krick gave it her all in her final home game, finishing with 21 points and five made threes, not to mention the defensive contributions and hustle plays that are a hallmark of her game.
“From the start it was emotional,” Krick said. “My family is here, my mom’s crying, but for me, it was just all about winning and helping my teammates continue to fight.”
Basketball is often referred to as a game of runs, and that old adage rang true in this game. Manhattan opened up a 33-15 lead late in the first half, only to see that lead evaporate by the midway point of the third quarter. The Jaspers regained their composure and had the lead back up to double-digits early in the fourth. It wasn’t over yet.
Krick hit a three to bring Marist to within 57-50 with 2:17 left in the game, and Sam Bailey drained a three to make it 57-53 30 seconds later. After the Jaspers got a layup on a press break, Krick struck again, this time from deep, to make it 59-56 with 1:29 left in regulation.
After a defensive stop, the Red Foxes had a chance to tie or cut the lead to one with inside a minute left. Krick missed a three but got her own miss to give Marist 20 more seconds to work with. Marist couldn’t get anything going and suffered a shot-clock violation.
The Red Foxes got one more reprieve, forcing a Jaspers’ turnover that gave them the ball with five seconds left. Marist hasn’t been the best in the clutch this season, but on her night, if Krick got the ball it was going in.
She shot a deep three from in front of the home bench to tie the game at 59 as bedlam ensued in McCann. This one would need an extra five minutes.
With two minutes left in the overtime period, the Jaspers had a one-point lead and the ball. Manhattan grabbed two crucial offensive rebounds which led to a crucial three from Dee Dee Davis to put the Jaspers up 64-60 1:19 left.
On the next Marist trip, there was a scary moment as Trinasia Kennedy went flying into the press tables to the right of the court. She was down for a few minutes before being helped off to the training table.
The Red Foxes couldn’t mount another comeback as the Jaspers made their foul shots in the final minute. Marist only scored one point in the overtime period and went scoreless for the final 4:33.
Marist (8-20, 6-14 in the MAAC) shot 30 percent from the field and 12-of-37 from three-point range, constituting new highs in threes made and attempted on the season.
Krick’s tremendous night nearly made up for off nights from Trinasia Kennedy and Anabel Ellison. Together, they combined for nine points on three-of-24 shooting. Giorgis hopes to have Kennedy back for Tuesday’s MAAC Tournament game.
Sam Bailey finished with 11 points and Shazer had 10 despite fouling out in the middle of the fourth quarter.
The ever-reliable Courtney Warley registered a double-double for Manhattan (19-10, 14-6 in the MAAC) with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Dee Dee Davis led all scorers with 22 points on seven-of-20 shooting. Petra Juric also had a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards.
The Red Foxes endured a brutal seven-and-a-half minute scoring drought, missing 10 straight shots while Manhattan built a sizable lead.
A three from Davis extended Manhattan’s advantage to 33-15 with 2:06 left in the half and capped an 18-0 run. Marist finally ended the drought with a three from Erin Fox and added a buzzer-beating mid-range jumper from Kennedy to make it 33-20 going into the break.
The Red Foxes made one-of-their-first-13 shots in the second quarter before hitting their last two to end the half. Marist shot 24 percent in the opening 20 minutes.
Marist came out of the locker room with renewed defensive intensity and cut the deficit to 34-28 after Krick found Shazer for a layup. The Red Foxes kept coming and Sam Bailey rattled down a three to make it 34-33 and cap a 13-1 run to open the third quarter. A quiet McCann suddenly roared back to life.
Krick hit two foul shots to briefly give Marist an edge, but the Jaspers responded with a 7-0 run and took and got the lead back up to 47-38 after Jade Blagrove swished a three to beat the third-quarter buzzer.
Marist finishes the season with a 6-8 inside the normally friendlier confines of McCann.
The Red Foxes are now locked into the 10-seed for the MAAC Tournament in Atlantic City. Marist will take on Saint Peter’s at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall. The Peacocks earned a regular-season sweep of the series.
“When we got down, we didn’t hang our heads,” Giorgis said. “I told our players that it’s tournament time and it’s all back to zero-zero.”
Edited by Connor Kurpat
Image from Marist Athletics
