In a game riddled with missed shots, turnovers, fouls, injuries and missed opportunities, the Marist Red Foxes held pace consistently throughout the game in the team’s sixth home win of the season, defeating Canisius, 60-53.
Shooting only 4-for-13 in the first quarter, Marist came out with an adjusted style of play for the second quarter.
“I’m proud of our resilience, how we continued to fight, how we executed down the stretch and how people stepped up,” said head coach Erin Doughty. “We had foul troubles, we had injuries and people were in game situations that they have not been in. So to execute down the stretch and get stops we needed to, it is a sign of people being ready to step in.”
The offensive surge in the second quarter for the Red Foxes began with two foul shots from senior guard Jackie Piddock, after a flagrant foul called on junior forward Shariah Gailes gave Marist shots at the line and offensive possession.
With possession, Piddock found an unguarded sophomore, Danielle Williamsen, with her arms up on the 3-point line. Williamsen sank the team’s first three of the game, highlighting a Marist 18-9 run to end the first half.
“Dani [Williamsen] made some big plays in the second quarter, and Jackie [Piddock] had some great passes in the second quarter,” said Doughty. “And that is when we were able to go on our run.”
The Red Foxes have relied on the 3-point shot throughout this season. With a team that lacks height, the entirety of the Marist roster can knock down shots from the outside. Marist ranks third in the MAAC for 3-point percentage shooting, with three players in the top 15 3-point shooters in the conference.
Canisius has been able to frustrate teams that rely on the 3-ball, becoming one of the best teams in the nation at defending threes. The Golden Griffs have held their opponents to a combined 26.9% from beyond the arc, with all opponents at 20% or less from three-point range
“We are always looking for the three-ball and we knew they guarded it well, but we had to take our opportunities and knock them down. I thought for the most part we did a good job of that,” said Doughty.
Marist ended the game shooting 29.4% from beyond the arc with 3-pointers coming from Piddock, Williamsen and sophomore guard Chloe Escanillias.
Tight man-to-man defense prevented Canisius from finding open shots in the opening 20 minutes, with the majority of the Golden Griffins points coming from missed rebound opportunities by the Marist defense. By the end of the first half, Canisius scored eight points off second-chance opportunities. Out-rebounding the Red Foxes 4-11 on offensive rebounds.
“We just have to box out,” said Piddock. “That’s the simple answer. I know it is tough when people are battling and things like that, but those 50/50 balls we just have to clean up.”
Fouls continued to pile up for both teams by the third quarter, with three players on both teams entering foul trouble. With four minutes on the clock in the third junior, Karly Fischer received her fourth personal foul, sending her to the bench. Fischer returned in the fourth quarter before fouling out with five minutes left to play.
Canisius outshot its first-half performance in the third quarter, adding on 8-for-12 from the field, making it a two-point game at 39-37 heading into the final ten minutes.
In the opening scoring drive of the fourth quarter, Williamsen faked going up and dished the ball to an open Tarul on the opposite side. As Williamsen planted her leg down, her leg gave out, sending her crouched over and needing assistance from her team and staff to exit the court.
Williamsen has been dynamic this season for the Red Foxes, recording her first double-double with 20 points and a career high 10 rebounds and adding on a career high seven assists in the team’s win earlier this season over Rider.
“We saw that the pick and roll was working for us. You know the ball screens and handoffs, Dani [Williamsen] scored early coming off of them,” said Doughty. “Dani [Williamsen] getting those early jumpers opened up [Lexie] Tarul a little bit and then later on we got our weakside action because they were so focused on the ball handler.”
With 24 minutes of clocked play time in the win over Canisius, Williamsen tallied 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
Play continued to flow through Piddock, opening the fourth quarter with a 15-5 run. Piddock ended the game with eight assists, eight points and eight rebounds.
“It does not matter what Jackie [Piddock] is doing, if she is playing Uno in the hotel or playing basketball, you are getting 110%,” said Doughty. “She is going to do whatever her team needs her to do to win.”
“She played defense, and I did not really take her out much. She is our captain, Jack; she is our steady. We know what we are going to get from Jackie [Piddock] and having her out there, everyone else feels more confident.”
The Golden Griffins turnover woes kept the team from scratching back and cutting into Marist’s lead. The 23 turnover game for Canisius marks the team’s 16th of their last 20 games with 20-or-more turnovers.
Holding the lead for 95.4% of the game, Canisius came within six in the final minute of play.
“We have been in close games that we have pulled out and you have to remember that. Trusting each other and trusting yourselves and trust that we are going execute the way we need to,” said Doughty. “When they are confident in each other and lean on eachother things happen for us. Teams are going to have runs; that’s how basketball works. Our run was in the second quarter, theirs was in the third. You have to be able to withstand that.”
On what could have been Canisius’ final possession of the game, freshman forward Justine Henry jumped up for a rebound when a charging senior guard Franka Wittenberg came in from the outside and knocked Henry down. A slam of Henry landing on her tailbone on the floor silenced McCann Arena.
After a few minutes, Henry was helped up and off the court, into the tunnel with the training staff. With four players on the Marist roster already non-jersied on the bench, a quiet worry filled the gym with the question of Williamsen and Henry’s health hanging in the air.
On the court, play continued and Marist held off the Canisius offense, ending with a 60-51 win.
Play will continue at home for Marist on Saturday against Niagara at 2 p.m. The Purple Eagles are still on the hunt for the team’s first conference win, standing last in the MAAC standings.
Edited by Hayden Shapiro
Graphic by Jaylen Rizzo
Photo by Jaylen Rizzo
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