The Marist Red Foxes snapped a three-game losing streak in their third overtime game of the season on Sunday afternoon at Lafayette, with a final score of 79-76; senior guard Jackie Piddock undoubtedly rose to the occasion.
Piddock set a new career high against Lafayette with 26 points, just five games after setting her previous career high in the team’s overtime win over fellow Patriot League team Holy Cross. Piddock ended the win shooting 8-for-11 from the field, 4-for-4 from beyond the arc, 6-for-6 from the foul line, as well as adding four rebounds and six assists.
The Red Foxes, who usually struggle rebounding, out-rebounded the Leopards consistently throughout the game. Similar to Marist, Lafayette struggles in size with only two true centers on the roster. In the first half, Marist grabbed 25 rebounds, 10 of which were offensive rebounds, leading to seven second-chance points.
Turnovers continued to be a problem this season for the Red Foxes and that pattern continued against the Leopards. Lafayette grappled with similar issues as both teams reached double digits in turnovers in the first 20 minutes of play.
Freshman guard Justine Henry got Marist on the board first, followed by a 3-pointer from senior forward Lexie Tarul. As a freshman, Henry leads the Red Foxes in points, rebounds and steals. Tarul follows Henry in points and rebounds while leading the charge with the most made 3-pointers.
Marist saw contributions across the board in the first half across the offensive end, with six different Red Foxes contributing a bucket. The offense for Marist was fluid, with continuous off-ball movement, finding players on off-ball screens and creating shooting space on the outside.
Going 50% from beyond the arc in the first half, Marist continued to shoot quickly and hustled back on defense, forcing Lafayette to make mistakes without a set offense. With 19 seconds left in the first quarter, Piddock hit her 11th three of the season, extending the Marist lead, 21-15.
The pace of play slowed down in the second quarter, with both teams struggling to knock down points. On defense, Marist rattled the Leopards’ 3-point shooters by aggressively contesting their shots.
Lafayette moved to a 1-3-1 zone, disrupting the Marist rhythm, leading to a three-minute scoring drought for both teams in the second quarter. The dry spell ended with a pull-up jumper behind the foul line from junior forward Karly Fischer, pushing the Marist lead to eight, 30-22.
Lafayette’s shooting difficulties disappeared in the first half; after trailing Marist by six, the Leopards tied the score within the first two minutes of the third quarter.
Despite Lafayette outshooting Marist from the field, offensive rebounds and second-chance opportunities proved to play a key role in the Red Foxes’ win. The Leopards recorded seven offensive rebounds to Marist’s 22.
The third quarter went back and forth with six lead changes within the quarter. Piddock recorded seven of her 26 points in the frame, with an assist to Fischer to end the quarter and put Marist back in the lead 50-48.
Continuous lead changes crept into the fourth, with junior guard Teresa Kiewiet leading the charge for the Leopards, with 19 points. Four of the Lafayettes’ starters average over 10 points and all four reached double digits in the matchup against Marist. The Red Foxes executed a balanced offense with all players contributing to finding the basket.
Piddock shot 4-for-4 from beyond the arc, with her biggest shot coming with a little under two seconds left, making the score 66-63.
With 11 seconds left, sophomore guard Talia Zurinskas drove to the basket, drawing in the Marist defense. As the defense collapsed on Zurinskas, they left Kiewiet open. Zurinskas found her for the game-tying three, sending the Red Foxes into overtime.
With two minutes left, five of the Leopards and four of the Red Foxes scored double digits. Lafayette called a timeout down three in overtime, Kiewiet responded with the exact three that ended regulation. Kiewiet ended the game shooting 62.5% from the 3-point line and 50% from the field, ending with 25 points.
Marist had a four-point lead when Zurinskas found Adamski for her third 3-pointer of the game.
Tarul then let go of a jumper that just missed, but Fischer gained the rebound, maintaining the possession for the Red Foxes with 17 seconds left. Fischer got the ball to Piddock, who was fouled and sent to the line, improving her team’s lead to 75-71.
Sauda Ntaconayigize drove to the basket with 11 seconds left and put the score back within one. Williamsen got the ball to Piddock off the inbound, the exact person the Red Foxes wanted to send to the line. Piddock continued her perfect stat line from the charity stripe, ending 6-for-6 and breaking a new career high.
The Red Foxes continue their away streak for the team’s final game before MAAC play against Binghamton on Saturday.
Edited by Ben Leeds
Graphic by Cara Lacey
Photo from Jaylen Rizzo
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