In a Saturday afternoon matchup against Niagara, the Red Foxes showed how dynamic a team they truly are, in a 71-52 victory. All eight available players saw the court, with each contributing at least four points on the scoreboard.
With both senior forward Ciara Croker and sophomore guard Danielle Williamsen out of the starting five, junior forward Karly Fischer returned to the lineup alongside sophomore guard Chloe Escanillas for her second conference start of the year.
Entering the game against the Purple Eagles, Escanillas led Marist in 3-point shooting, holding a 42.5% shooting percentage from distance. Escanillas proved herself to be more than a distance shooter against Niagara.
“Obviously, Choe [Escanillias] is marked as a shooter, so people are going to be pressuring her a lot,” said head coach Erin Doughty. “In these last two games, she has shown she can do a little bit off the dribble and she was able to find people off the bounce.”
Averaging 10.5 minutes per game with 3.3 points per game, Escanillas saw a season-high 27 minutes of action. Shooting dialed as usual with 3-for-5 beyond the arc, Escanillas showed that she can facilitate on offense and lockdown on defense.
“Just knowing that I am out there and that my teammates have confidence in me, trust me to knock down shots and find them on offense is what really matters,” said Escanillias.
Calling plays at the top of the key with the ball, dishing to the open shot and creating space without the ball, Escanillas got the scoring started for Marist in the opening minute. On the wing of the 3-point line, Escanillas found redshirt senior forward Lexie Tarul in the corner for a three-point goal to get Marist on the board first.
“Chloe [Escanillias] played point in high school. We have always traditionally loved guards that have point guard experience, even if they don’t play point for us, because they make good decisions,” said Doughty. “Chloe really did that today, both shooting the ball and passing.”
The second quarter started the same way as the first, with Escanillas finding Tarul in the corner and putting Marist up 15-13.
Tarul knocked down eight of her own in the second, in addition to two assists. She finished the game with 17 points, four steals, three rebounds, two assists and one block, seemingly playing every position on the court.
After shooting 4-for-15 in the first quarter, the Red Foxes turned things around in the second quarter. The team shot a stellar 72.7% from the field in the second; Marist shot 8-for-11 from the field and 6-for-8 from deep.
After the team’s eighth turnover, Doughty yelled out to the team to calm down. Senior guard Jackie Piddock gestured for everyone to take a breath as freshman guard Justine Henry high-fived Escanillas, reassuring her after her second turnover, costing the Red Foxes to lose possession.
Marist can put its faith in each player every game. Against Niagara, a different starting five stepped up for the Red Foxes. It is not unusual for the Marist bench to outscore its opponents. In a showing with no Croker or Williamsen, the bench contributed 19 points in the win.
“Just knowing my teammates and my coaches want me out there to shoot, so being ready and knowing that everyone on the team has to have that same mentality; just next play and knocking out shots that are open,” said Escanillias.
Regaining possession, Piddock found Tarul midrange off the rebound. Tarul hesitated, then faded away, for the team’s first point in four minutes and an 11-2 run by the Purple Eagles.
Tarul created a spark for her team to close out the rest of the quarter and seemingly the rest of the contest. Marist dominated the third quarter, outscoring Niagara 20-10, pushing Marist to a 33-point lead.
Junior guard Julia Corsentino shot 0-for-7 in MAAC play from the 3-point line before Saturday’s matchup. The guard would exit the game with her most minutes played this season, tallying on an outstanding shooting game, with 3-for-5 from the field and a perfect 3-for-3 from deep.
“It was really good for Julia [Corsentino], she has been wanting to be out there and I know she knows she is a shooter. She has practices where she makes a ton of threes,” said Doughty. “So it is good to see her knock some down in games. They were open shots that she needed to take and she took them confidently.”
Despite hurting her back in Thursday’s matchup against Canisius, Henry put on a show. The freshman finished the game with her fifth consecutive game with double digits, and a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds and a career high six steals.
“Justine is a competitor and today I thought she did a nice job of taking her opportunities to score, but also finding people,” said Doughty. “She loves to shoot the gap and get steals, so it was good to see her have a good game from that perspective too.”
Marist improves to 6-7 in MAAC play, as they prepare to face off against Fairfield on Thursday, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. The Stags currently sit second in the conference after falling to Quinnipiac, 72-58, on Thursday.
Edited by Mike Schiavone
Graphic by Quinn DiFiore
Photo by Emily Portnov
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