2008 Woodie Awards
Women's team eager to play MAAC tournament
Mike Benischek
Issue date: 3/4/04 Section: Sports
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As the rebound of Kendra Kirby's missed lay up bounced to the ground and finally corralled by Alisa Kresge, the final horn sounded. Maureen Magarity turned towards her bench with a smile on her face and saw her Red Fox teammates jump to their feet in celebration of the team's first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regular season championship in the program's history.
With Marist's 66-61 victory over the Iona Gaels at the Mulcahy center on Sunday, the Red Foxes improved its record to 13-5 and tied Siena for the MAAC crown.
Marist head coach Brian Giorgis said he is proud of how his team captured the title when it was in sight.
"I'm so happy for these kids," he said. "What a great way to win the championship. The kids just really sucked it up and really went after it."
The Red Foxes trailed throughout the first half by as many as 12, at 22-10, but were given a surprising lift by senior Kerry Sullivan. Sullivan knocked down back to back three-pointers to cap an 8-0 run to pull the Foxes within four and trailed by just seven at the break, 31-24.
"She looked very comfortable. Even when I yelled and screamed at her, she just blew it off which was great," Giorgis said. "That's what we needed from her. We had a talk with her about just going out and having fun. Within the flow of the offense she was just great."
Stephanie Del Preore, who was sidelined for much of the first half with two early fouls, provided the first five points of the second half, and Marist took its first lead at 33-32 on a Kresge lay up.
Down the stretch the Foxes were led by its two freshman guards, Kresge and Minter. The tandem scored 11 points over the last nine-minutes, including two threes by Minter and two free throws by Kresge to put the team up eight with a minute and a half to play.
Marist, the two-seed in the MAAC Tournament, will play in the quarterfinals on Friday at 11:30 a.m. in the Pepsi Arena in Albany, N.Y. against the winner of a first round contest between the Fairfield Stags and the Manhattan Jaspers.
Giorgis said he hopes to have as much Marist support in Albany as the team has had all year.
"We've had great support all year," he said. "Once people caught the fever from these kids and their refuse to lose attitude it's just been wonderful."
The Foxes were 2-0 in the regular season against the Stags, but just 1-1 against the Jaspers. If Marist wins its quarterfinals match-up, the Foxes will play on Saturday in the semi-finals at 2:00 p.m.
The MAAC final is scheduled for noon on Sunday.
"We're not going to win a championship in the MAAC playing seven kids in three straight days," Giorgis said. "We're going to need a lot of people to change things around a bit, and people are going to have to step up."
With Marist's 66-61 victory over the Iona Gaels at the Mulcahy center on Sunday, the Red Foxes improved its record to 13-5 and tied Siena for the MAAC crown.
Marist head coach Brian Giorgis said he is proud of how his team captured the title when it was in sight.
"I'm so happy for these kids," he said. "What a great way to win the championship. The kids just really sucked it up and really went after it."
The Red Foxes trailed throughout the first half by as many as 12, at 22-10, but were given a surprising lift by senior Kerry Sullivan. Sullivan knocked down back to back three-pointers to cap an 8-0 run to pull the Foxes within four and trailed by just seven at the break, 31-24.
"She looked very comfortable. Even when I yelled and screamed at her, she just blew it off which was great," Giorgis said. "That's what we needed from her. We had a talk with her about just going out and having fun. Within the flow of the offense she was just great."
Stephanie Del Preore, who was sidelined for much of the first half with two early fouls, provided the first five points of the second half, and Marist took its first lead at 33-32 on a Kresge lay up.
Down the stretch the Foxes were led by its two freshman guards, Kresge and Minter. The tandem scored 11 points over the last nine-minutes, including two threes by Minter and two free throws by Kresge to put the team up eight with a minute and a half to play.
Marist, the two-seed in the MAAC Tournament, will play in the quarterfinals on Friday at 11:30 a.m. in the Pepsi Arena in Albany, N.Y. against the winner of a first round contest between the Fairfield Stags and the Manhattan Jaspers.
Giorgis said he hopes to have as much Marist support in Albany as the team has had all year.
"We've had great support all year," he said. "Once people caught the fever from these kids and their refuse to lose attitude it's just been wonderful."
The Foxes were 2-0 in the regular season against the Stags, but just 1-1 against the Jaspers. If Marist wins its quarterfinals match-up, the Foxes will play on Saturday in the semi-finals at 2:00 p.m.
The MAAC final is scheduled for noon on Sunday.
"We're not going to win a championship in the MAAC playing seven kids in three straight days," Giorgis said. "We're going to need a lot of people to change things around a bit, and people are going to have to step up."