Marist women’s basketball erupted on offense for 28 points in the third quarter to overwhelm Canisius 67-48 and extend their winning streak to four.
Junior center Morgan Lee had an authoritative performance, putting up 18 points, nine rebounds and three blocks in the victory. Freshman guard Danielle Williamsen logged 11 points and four assists herself while redshirt junior guard Lexie Tarul produced 10 points and two blocks in the contest.
Both sides spent some time finding their offensive footing in the opening quarter, with junior guard Jackie Piddock delivering the only points for the first four minutes of the game on a layup.
Lee gave the Red Fox offense a boost, cashing in on back-to-back possessions on a pair of post moves to put Marist up 10-8. Sophomore guard Julia Corsentino then stole the fifth Canisius turnover of the game and sophomore guard Malea Egan turned that into a basket.
Lee capped off the 6-0 run with a mid-range jumper and ended the quarter with her second block of the first frame to keep Marist in front 14-8. The junior has seen double teams on offense quite often this season, but that was not the case for much of the first half.
“That’s where she’s so dangerous,” said Doughty. “When she’s one-on-one in the post, no one can guard her. But if they do send a double she does a good job of passing…we know when the ball is in her hands, good things are gonna happen.”
Williamsen opened the Red Fox second quarter offense with a layup, while Tarul delivered her first points of the game on a long two-point shot.
The Golden Griffins made their living at the free-throw line in the second frame, forcing the fifth Marist team foul with over six minutes to go in the quarter. Canisius went 5-for-6 from the line during that stretch.
The Red Foxes stayed disciplined for the most part after this however, only committing two more fouls the rest of the quarter. While the Golden Griffins went 8-for-10 from the charity stripe in the quarter, they were nonexistent from the field, going 0-for-11 in the second frame with Marist forcing 11 first half turnovers. Canisius went 3-for-27 from the field overall in the first half.
“I thought we made that adjustment,” said Doughty. “There was some reaching from our guards that we need to clean up, but overall I think it was a really good defensive game.”
Marist did most of their offensive damage on the inside in the first half. Corsentino and Lee each made a shot from beyond the arc in the final two minutes, but they mainly built their 26-16 lead off of 14 points in the paint going into halftime.
The Red Fox offense stayed cooking out of the break, as Tarul and Egan each delivered their first triples of the game. Marist ballooned their lead to 43-22, going on a 17-6 run at the midway point of the third quarter.
Graduate student guard Jalea Johnson attempted to get the Golden Griffins back into it with her second 3-pointer of the game, as Canisius dialed up the pressure on defense.
Sophomore forward Shariah Gailes followed that up with her second and-one of the game to make it 45-30, but junior forward Ciara Croker answered back with an and-one of her own. Egan then tied her career-high of eight points on the next possession with her second 3-pointer.
Tarul got herself into double digits right after with a stepback 3-pointer to give the Red Foxes a 21 point lead. Marist would take a 54-35 lead into the final quarter, going 10-for-16 from the field and 5-for-8 from beyond the arc for a whopping 28 total points in the third quarter.
“Third quarters are huge for us,” said Lee. “Just coming out and not stepping off gas, making sure that we’re going full speed and getting the shots we want to get.”
Williamsen entered double digits in the opening minutes of the third quarter with her first 3-pointer, while Lee added to her total with a tough finish on a layup to put Marist up 61-35 early in the fourth quarter.
Canisius gave the Red Fox some problems with a press after this however, as they forced nine fourth quarter turnovers. They kept Marist scoreless for over four minutes towards the end of the game.
Nonetheless, the Red Foxes would make their way to a 19 point victory over the Golden Griffins. Marist went 8-for-13 from beyond the arc in the second half.
“We talked about being confident shooters,” said Doughty. “I was proud of them for taking open looks and knocking them down, but we have that capability to put up big point quarters…it’s hard to stop five people who can score at one time.”
Marist will take their four-game winning streak over to Siena in a road matchup on Thursday at 6 p.m.
Edited by Dan Aulbach
Photo From Kira Crutcher
For more coverage of Marist athletics, follow @cfmarist on Instagram, X, and TikTok, and sign up to receive daily alerts here.