Jan. 26, 2007

Final Stats

Poughkeepsie, N.Y. - Marist used Nikki Flores 16 points to get past the Saints 58-46 this evening at the McCann Center. Junior guard Melissa Manzer led the Saints scoring offense for the second straight game recording 15 points. Laura Menty and Heather Stec chipped in 10 points apiece in the losing effort.

"I think we did a great job scoring in the first half," said head coach Gina Castelli. "But you can't turn the ball over 21 times and expect to beat a good team like Marist."

The Red Foxes took a 27-26 advantage into the intermission behind freshman forward Rachele Fitz's 10 first half points. Fitz went 5-for-8 from the field. The Saints challenged Marist over the course of the half and shot 47% from the field. Turnovers hindered the Saints as they coughed up 13 of their 21 in the first 20 minutes of action.

Manzer picked up right where she left off last week recording 10 first half points. She went 2-for-4 from 3-point range and drained two free-throws just seconds before intermission to cut the Saints deficit to one.

Siena entered the second half rejuvenated and chipped away at the Red Foxes lead. Then with the shot clock winding down at the 11 minute mark, Manzer drove the left side, kicked it to a wide open Liga Alpe-Luka who buried a three pointer to give the Saints a 38-37 advantage with 10:50 remaining.

Marist responded quickly running off an 11-2 run following the 3-pointer and never looked back. The Red Foxes clamped down on the Saints defensively holding them to just one field goal in the last 10 minutes of the game.

Siena managed to shutdown Fitz in the second half, but Flores picked up the slack as she dished in 10 second half points. With the victory, Marist improves to a perfect 9-0 in the MAAC.

With the loss, the Saints fall to 4-15 overall and 3-6 in league play. They return to action on Monday night when they face off with Rider at the Alumni Recreation Center. Tip time is slated for 7 p.m.