Marist women’s basketball dropped their second straight game 64-52 to Quinnipiac amid first-half turnovers and second-half shooting woes. The Red Foxes went 5-for-32 from the field and 2-for-22 from beyond the arc in the second half.
Leaving the game maintaining their perfect home (7-0) and conference (4-0) records, the Bobcats had four players in double-figures; sophomore guard Karson Martin topped the list with 19 points, seven rebounds and four steals. First-year guard Gal Raviv had 16 points, seven rebounds and four steals in the contest for Quinnipiac.
Junior forward Ciara Croker was the only Red Fox in double-figures with 10 points and six boards. Junior center Morgan Lee and redshirt junior Lexie Tarul–the team’s two season-leading scorers–combined to shoot 4-for-28 and scored just 11 points collectively. Lee had a collegiate-high nine turnovers in the loss.
The Red Foxes’ offense got off to a hot start when freshman guard Danielle Williamsen knocked down a pull-up jumper for the first points of the contest. Croker and junior guard Jackie Piddock each followed that up with a 3-pointer to give Marist a quick 8-2 run.
The Bobcats slowly answered the quick Red Fox burst as Raviv knocked down her first shot from beyond the arc. Junior forward Ella O’Donnell then ripped down an offensive rebound and put Quinnipiac back in front with a layup.
Lee hit her only 3-pointer of the game off a pick-and-roll with Piddock, pulling the Red Foxes within one as the quarter came to a close. Marist went 3-of-9 from beyond the arc in the first quarter.
Graduate student forward Brooke Jarvis and sophomore guard Malea Egan initiated the second-quarter offense for the Red Foxes. Jarvis finished a layup through contact while Egan knocked down a 3-pointer to put Marist in front 20-18.
The turnovers began to pile up for the Red Foxes. Marist had six giveaways in the first 5:16 of the second quarter, which the Bobcats used for eight points. Quinnipiac found themselves up 27-23 after Lee’s sixth turnover of the game up to that point.
Raviv and sophomore forward/center Anna Foley each made a pair of shots in the paint to cap off a 13-3 run for the Bobcats.
Croker had just six 3-point attempts last season but was 2-for-3 in today’s game. She sank the last jumper of the half to tie the game at 33, despite 14 first-half turnovers.
Practically non-existent in efficiency for the first five minutes of the third quarter aside from that 3-pointer by Tarul, Marist’s struggles began on offense with both sides combining to go 2-for-13 up to the 4:57 mark in the 3rd quarter.
The Bobcats attack started to find a groove as Raviv, graduate student forward Caranda Perea and sophomore guard Karson Martin each made layups which put all of them in double-figures.
With the Bobcats up 45-40 with under two minutes to go in the third quarter, Tarul made the opposition pay with her second 3-pointer of the game to cut the lead to two entering the fourth. The Bobcats were 8-for-16 from the charity stripe after three quarters of play which helped to keep Marist in it.
Quinnipiac did not do anything too special on the offensive end in the fourth quarter, rather it was their strong defensive presence that led them to victory. The Bobcats forced the Red Foxes to take difficult shots, leading to a 1-for-13 performance from the field over the first eight minutes of the fourth for Marist.
Meanwhile, Martin brought her total to 17 points at the free-throw line and gave Quinnipiac their largest lead of the game at 55-46 at the 3:57 mark in the fourth quarter.
The Red Foxes limited the turnovers in the second half to six, but Martin’s fourth steal of the game led to a Foley layup which put Marist away.
Marist battled the entire game, their inability to make shots in the second half prevented them from a better chance at a win. The Red Foxes put up just 19 total points in the final two quarters.
With the loss setting them back to a .500 record at 7-7, Marist will take a week off before another road matchup in Fairfield next Saturday at 2 p.m.
Edited by Dan Aulbach
Photo from Kira Crutcher
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