2008 Woodie Awards
Foxes roll in battle of MAAC unbeatens, take sole possession of first place
Teamwork and talking carry Foxes through
Eric Zedalis
Issue date: 1/25/07 Section: Sports
Bozzella gave Marist credit for playing a great game, but pointed out that the Gaels shot themselves in the foot at times, particularly when they had the 6-0 lead.
"I think in the first half, we came out and we were executing on both ends. We were doing what we were asked to do," he said. "Then, we foul a three-point shooter 25 feet away from the basket -- atrocious foul."
That shooter was junior guard Nikki Flores, who helped turn the tide by hitting a jumper, and then making all three of her foul shots after she was fouled shooting a three-pointer.
Flores, who finished the day with 10 points and five rebounds, said simply that shots were available for her, and she just took advantage.
"I wasn't trying to force anything, because you don't want turnovers," Flores said. "But if the shots were there I was going to take them, and they were there."
Shots were not always easy to come by though, as Marist struggled to establish an inside game. According to Giorgis, the seven three-pointers Marist made were all crucial.
"They're hard to score on, on the inside," he said. "You don't develop a game plan that you're going to keep pounding it inside, because there's a lot of trees there, and they're pretty tall."
In the first half, Marist's star forward Meg Dahlman took just four shots, but point guard Alisa Kresge was able to find her for more open looks late in the game.
Kresge said that Dahlman takes some of the stress out of her point guarding duties, because she does not have to always be so precise.
"It makes my job a lot easier knowing that I have somebody that I can throw some a little wild passes, and she's going to go up and get it, and go strong," Kresge said.
Kresge to Dahlman seemed to be the theme late in the game, as Marist tried to melt the clock down to under ten seconds with every possession.
Giorgis said that sometimes running this offense is Marist's "achilles," but that against Iona it worked great.
"Today we did a better job of at least, executing in the last 10 seconds [of the shot clock], but we didn't want to just keep coming down and firing, because as long as we had the ball, they can't score," he said. "That's your best defense."
According to Giorgis, losing to Yale back on Dec. 22, was the best thing that ever happened to the Red Foxes. It opened their eyes to something; they had been so dominant, they may have not yet realized.
"We saw that, wow, if we don't come to play, people are going to beat us," he said.
Beating a previously undefeated conference team the way they did, goes to show that there really are no limits as to what Marist can do this season.
"We played well, and when we play well, we're a difficult basketball team to beat," Giorgis said.
"I think in the first half, we came out and we were executing on both ends. We were doing what we were asked to do," he said. "Then, we foul a three-point shooter 25 feet away from the basket -- atrocious foul."
That shooter was junior guard Nikki Flores, who helped turn the tide by hitting a jumper, and then making all three of her foul shots after she was fouled shooting a three-pointer.
Flores, who finished the day with 10 points and five rebounds, said simply that shots were available for her, and she just took advantage.
"I wasn't trying to force anything, because you don't want turnovers," Flores said. "But if the shots were there I was going to take them, and they were there."
Shots were not always easy to come by though, as Marist struggled to establish an inside game. According to Giorgis, the seven three-pointers Marist made were all crucial.
"They're hard to score on, on the inside," he said. "You don't develop a game plan that you're going to keep pounding it inside, because there's a lot of trees there, and they're pretty tall."
In the first half, Marist's star forward Meg Dahlman took just four shots, but point guard Alisa Kresge was able to find her for more open looks late in the game.
Kresge said that Dahlman takes some of the stress out of her point guarding duties, because she does not have to always be so precise.
"It makes my job a lot easier knowing that I have somebody that I can throw some a little wild passes, and she's going to go up and get it, and go strong," Kresge said.
Kresge to Dahlman seemed to be the theme late in the game, as Marist tried to melt the clock down to under ten seconds with every possession.
Giorgis said that sometimes running this offense is Marist's "achilles," but that against Iona it worked great.
"Today we did a better job of at least, executing in the last 10 seconds [of the shot clock], but we didn't want to just keep coming down and firing, because as long as we had the ball, they can't score," he said. "That's your best defense."
According to Giorgis, losing to Yale back on Dec. 22, was the best thing that ever happened to the Red Foxes. It opened their eyes to something; they had been so dominant, they may have not yet realized.
"We saw that, wow, if we don't come to play, people are going to beat us," he said.
Beating a previously undefeated conference team the way they did, goes to show that there really are no limits as to what Marist can do this season.
"We played well, and when we play well, we're a difficult basketball team to beat," Giorgis said.
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