Marist women’s basketball earned their second consecutive one-point victory, as they escaped a road matchup against Mount St. Mary’s with a 45-44 win.
Coming off a come-from-behind one-point victory over Niagara, the Red Foxes (5-11, 3-3 MAAC) sought to win their third straight in-conference game. Things did not look too encouraging for Marist as they trailed by eight points in the fourth quarter; MAAC Player of the Week senior forward Zaria Shazer and senior point guard Kiara Fisher both struggled, shooting a combined 5-20 from the field. Yet late contributions from Shazer, along with a strong shooting night from redshirt sophomore guard Lexie Tarul bailed out the Red Foxes in a defensive battle against the Mountaineers (4-11, 1-5 MAAC).
Sophomore center Morgan Lee made an early impact for Marist, making a jumper and then blocking a shot on senior forward Isabella Hunt. Tarul also pitched in, assisting Lee on her opening shot and then making a 3-pointer to give Marist a 9-2 lead midway through the first quarter.
The Mountaineers began to show signs of life later in the quarter, with junior guard Jo Raflo making a 3-pointer to draw her team within four; however, sophomore guard Jackie Piddock immediately countered for Marist with a corner three of her own. At the end of one, Marist led 14-12.
Early in the second quarter, back-and-forth play knotted the score at 17 apiece. With under seven minutes left in the half, sophomore guard Julia Corsentino drilled a corner three to put Marist back in front.
The Red Fox offense then hit a dry spell for the remainder of the second quarter, with clunky ball movement, a bevy of missed shots and a general lack of cohesion plaguing the team. Luckily for Marist, the Mountaineers also could not buy a bucket late in the half. After an unsightly stretch of basketball, Marist went into the locker room with the score tied at 21.
Out of the break, the Marist attack found some traction. Tarul drilled a three early in the third quarter, and then Shazer scored a coast-to-coast bucket after generating a steal. Tarul continued her strong night with a midrange make to put Marist up 28-23.
After being held scoreless for the first two-and-a-half quarters, senior point guard Kiara Fisher made her first bucket of the day on a driving layup to add to the Red Fox lead. The Mountaineers managed to stay in the game, with a Jaedyn Jamison floating jump shot and putback layup tying things up at 30. After a few more back-and-forth buckets, a buzzer-beater layup from senior guard Jessica Tomasetti gave the Mountaineers a 35-32 lead with one quarter left to play.
Corsentino tried to tie the score at 35 on two separate occasions, but she missed both 3-point shots. After another scoreless spell, Tomasetti drilled a three and then made a key steal that resulted in a layup for Hunt, staking the Mount out to a 40-32 lead with seven minutes left to play.
A Tarul three from the left wing and a deep midrange bucket from Lee drew Marist back within three. Lee was then called for a foul when she attempted to block a layup, sending Hunt to the line with a chance to add to the Mountaineers’ lead, but she missed both critical free throws, each of which would eventually come back to haunt her team. Lee then converted on a key putback shot on the interior to make it a one-point game with three minutes remaining.
Mount St. Mary’s immediately responded when redshirt freshman guard Giana Hoddinott made a hard-fought layup, and Shazer then responded with a driving layup of her own. The back-and-forth continued with Raflo making a stepback shot and Tarul tying things up at 44 apiece on her fourth made 3-pointer of the night.
With 42 seconds remaining, a Hunt foul sent Shazer to the line, where she made the first free throw attempt to give Marist a 45-44 lead. On the final play of the game, Piddock tried to inbound the ball to Shazer, but it was stolen by redshirt junior guard Jada Lee, giving Mount St. Mary’s one last chance. With time expiring, Raflo took a 3-point shot from way downtown that never had a chance, ultimately preserving Marist’s second consecutive one-point victory.
With their MAAC conference record now up to .500, the Red Foxes will try to win their fourth straight game when they return to McCann Arena to take on Fairfield. Tipoff is scheduled for Saturday at 4 p.m., and Marist will be facing a Stags team that has gotten off to an incredible start this season with a 14-1 overall record and a perfect 6-0 MAAC record.
Fairfield has numerous standouts, including post player Meghan Anderson, who is averaging nearly 18 points a game on 50-40-90 splits, along with senior guard Janelle Brown, who is contributing 14 points per night while shooting over 54% from deep. All told, the Stags have four players averaging over four assists per night; slowing down Fairfield’s ball movement will be key for the Red Foxes.
Edited by Ben Leeds
Photo and graphic from Jaylen Rizzo
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