The Red Foxes traveled upstate on Saturday to face the Purple Eagles, attempting to snap their losing streak of seven games. Instead, Niagara successfully extended their winning streak to eight games, taking down Marist 90-64.
In their last meeting, Marist Red Foxes (5-19, 3-11 MAAC Conference) pulled off a nail-biting one-point victory at the McCann Center, ultimately giving the Red Foxes their 40th all-time victory against the Niagara Purple Eagles (14-11, 11-4 MAAC).
Marist had their eyes set on victory number six on the season entering this one, but Niagara’s early full-court pressure led to a few Marist turnovers right out of the gate. Countless substitutions allowed the Purple Eagles to keep up the intense full-court press, giving their players some rest after hard-fought defensive possessions.
The game plan for the Red Foxes was evident early: get the ball inside to senior forward Zaria Shazer and allow her to pull up from the wing or roll inside, yet her shots were simply not falling. Shazer had three good looks from the elbow area early in the first quarter that did not go down, though Marist stuck with their top gun.
Niagara sophomore forward Amelia Strong did start off strong for the Purple Eagles, racking up six first-quarter points. She made her presence felt inside and from the mid-range area, as Marist struggled to get bodies on her.
A 26-point first quarter from Niagara had them up by 11 entering the second quarter, where Marist went with a guard-heavy lineup trying to prevent any more turnovers in the backcourt. With all these ball-handlers on the floor, it opened up some opportunity for the Red Foxes to run a faster-paced offense.
To end the first half, Marist was only shooting 35.3% from the field, and Niagara’s immense defensive pressure led to three straight turnovers for the Red Foxes. To add to the offensive struggles, Shazer, who is one of the MAAC’s best free throw shooters, missed two key free throws at the tail end of quarter number two.
Down 15 points entering the second half, Marist needed to find an answer to the Purple Eagles’ three-point barrage. Hitting six triples and shooting 40% from downtown, seemingly whenever a Niagara player had space from beyond the arc, the ball was going in the net.
This continued in the second half, as Niagara started hot from the field, knocking down three of their first five attempts in just the first three minutes of the half. This extended the lead to 22 for the Purple Eagles.
Marist could not contain this high-octane Purple Eagle offense, surrendering 69 points through three quarters.
Entering the fourth at a score of 69-43, Niagara was well on their way to an eighth straight win which would ultimately catapult them into second place in the MAAC standings. Their lights-out three-point shooting and intense defensive playstyle gave the Red Foxes nightmares throughout the contest. 30 turnovers for the Red Foxes were a big part of this loss, as they could not get the offense rolling, constantly giving up the ball in the halfcourt.
With a final score of 90-64, Marist drops another on the road ending their winless road trip to upstate New York. The losses to Canisius and Niagara in a three-day span leave the Red Foxes at 3-11 in MAAC play, only a half-game better than the last-place Saint Peters Peacocks
Marist is back in action at home next Thursday, where they will host the Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers at 7 p.m. The Red Foxes will try and end their eight-game skid before the losing streak creeps closer to double digits.
Edited by Ben Leeds
Graphic by Cara Lacey
Photo by Marist Athletics
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Thirty Turnovers…I think they have hit that dreadful number 4 times this year! Painful to watch this year.