POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - The Marist women's basketball team (30-2 overall) was awarded the 10th seed in the Philadelphia Regional of the 2011 NCAA Women's Basketball Championship on Monday night. The Red Foxes will take on seventh-seeded Iowa State (22-10 overall) on Saturday, March 19 at 11:15 a.m. at Cameron Indoor Stadium on the campus of Duke University in Durham, N.C., and will be televised on ESPN2.
The seed is Marist's second highest in program history. The Red Foxes were awarded a #7 seed in the 2008 tournament, when they went on to defeat #10 DePaul in round one before being defeated by #2 LSU.
The Red Foxes will meet the Cyclones for the first time in program history. Marist will take on its second Big XII opponent this season, and won the first meeting against a school from the conference when it defeated Nebraska 65-60 in the Duel in the Desert in Las Vegas, Nev. Marist is currently 2-5 all-time against the Big XII.
Marist is currently riding the nation's longest winning streak, a 26-game stretch and has not lost since Dec. 4 to St. Bonaventure. Additionally, the Red Foxes currently boast their highest rankings in program history in both the Associated Press Top 25 and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll. Marist is ranked 19th in the most recent AP Poll and 17th in the Coaches' Poll.
The Red Foxes are led into the NCAA Tournament by senior guard Erica Allenspach (Miamisburg, Ohio) and junior guard Corielle Yarde (Reading, Pa.) who average 14.2 and 11.4 points per game, respectively. Allenspach was the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Player of the Year and MAAC Tournament MVP. Yarde is the team's leading rebounder and grabs 5.4 caroms per game.
Additionally, #19/17 Marist has played at Cameron Indoor Stadium under head coach Brian Giorgis, who is in his ninth season leading the Red Foxes. Marist lost to Duke 71-50 on Nov. 17, 2006. Giorgis, associate head coach Megan Gebbia and assistant coach Erin Leger were all members of the coaching staff for the game.