Marist women’s basketball could not secure a victory on senior day against Mount St. Mary’s, falling 61-50 behind a 32-4 extended run over the second and third quarters. The two squads previewed their soon-to-be MAAC tournament matchup in five days.
The Mountaineers entered today’s contest tied for first in the MAAC in percentage from beyond the arc at 35.2%. Marist held them to 30.3% from that category today, but Mount St. Mary’s stayed unfazed, taking 33 attempts on the afternoon.
“That’s a lot for them to take,” said head coach Erin Doughty. “We would like to limit the three-point attempts but they’re also really good off the bounce, so a lot of times it’s pick your poison.”
The Red Foxes honored three of their players before today’s game: senior guard Catie Cunningham, senior forward McKenna Rife and graduate student forward Brooke Jarvis.
The Marist offense came out of the gates hot, as freshman guard Danielle Williamsen stayed in her recent offensive groove by knocking down her first two 3-point attempts of the day.
Jarvis followed that up with a nifty lefty layup for her first points of the game. The graduate student later converted on an and-one opportunity, once again using the left hand for a layup.
“I know it hasn’t looked quite as she would have liked for playing time, but when she has gone in she’s been effective…I’ve really appreciated her hard work,” said Doughty.
Senior guard Catie Cunningham showcased her rebounding ability, ripping three boards down in the opening 3:34 of the contest.
“Today kind of encapsulates what Catie’s been as a player for us,” said Doughty. “She did a tremendous job in the zone, she was a monster on the boards and getting those hustle plays. She’s someone we can always count on for that stuff.”
The Mountaineers game plan looked clear from the get-go: shoot 3-pointers. Mount St. Mary’s attempted seven 3-pointers in just over the first five minutes of the game, yet making two of them.
Marist stayed efficient all quarter long, going 58.3% from the field and 4-for-6 from beyond the arc to hold a 20-9 lead after one.
Mount St. Mary’s waited until the 5:51 mark of the second frame to earn their first points of the quarter. However, the floater from redshirt sophomore guard Giana Hoddinott opened up a 13-0 run in just over two minutes.
The Red Foxes’ turnovers started to become more noteworthy, as Mount St. Mary utilized a full-court press to force six second quarter giveaways. Marist finished with 13 giveaways at the half while the Mountaineers sealed an 18-2 run on a layup from senior guard Jo Raflo to tie things up at 27. Mount St. Mary’s scored 16 of their 18 second quarter points off the Marist turnovers.
“With the way they can shoot the ball…they can go on runs,” said Doughty. “It was like that perfect combination for them where we were turning it over and their shots were falling and that allowed them to go on that run.”
While the Red Foxes had more giveaways in the first quarter than in the second, hiding that mark with a strong shooting performance. Eventually, the turnovers caught up to them, leaving Marist almost frozen on the offensive end for the rest of the game.
The Mountaineers came out of the half still firing away, going 3-for-6 from beyond the arc at the 6:10 mark of the third quarter. Graduate student guard Anna LeMaster delivered her second 3-pointer of the game to make it 38-29 and forced Doughty to call a timeout.
“We’ve come out flat the last several third quarters,” said Doughty. “People have made runs against us, so we need to be better in that segment of the game.”
Williamsen aimed to get the Red Foxes back into it with her third 3-pointer of the game while Lee got herself into double-figures with a layup. The Red Foxes still found themselves down nine at the end of the third quarter despite limiting themselves to two turnovers.
Mount St. Mary’s set the fourth quarter tone, starting 5-for-5 from the field to go up 58-40 with 5:32 remaining. LeMaster finished as the leading scorer for the Mountaineers with 15 points while Hoddinott delivered 11 points on three 3-pointers.
Marist limited themselves to five lost possessions in the second half but could not find a way back into an offensive flow, going 7-for-25 from the field in the final two quarters.
Both squads will travel to Atlantic City for a rematch in the MAAC tournament on Thursday at noon.
Edited By Dan Aulbach
Photo and Graphic from Kira Crutcher
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