13th-seeded Marist Set to Take on Georgia in First Round of 2012 NCAA Tournament

13th-seeded Marist Set to Take on Georgia in First Round of 2012 NCAA Tournament

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2012 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Bracket

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - The Marist women's basketball team (25-7) was awarded a 13th seed in the Raleigh Regional of the 2012 NCAA Women's Basketball Championship on Monday night. The Red Foxes will take on fourth-seeded University of Georgia Bulldogs (22-8) on Sunday, March 18 at 12:05 p.m. at the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center, where Florida State University will be the host. The first NCAA Tournament game of the day, Marist versus Georgia will be televised live on ESPN2 .

The Red Foxes will meet the Bulldogs for the third time in program history and second all-time in NCAA Tournament play. The two teams initially met on Dec. 21, 2004 before facing off in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament the following year. On March 19, 2006 in Trenton, N.J., the Red Foxes were defeated by Georgia by a score of 75-60. All-time, Marist is 1-9 versus SEC opponents with its first-ever winning coming earlier this year versus Auburn, 69-61.

The seven-time reigning MAAC Champions, Marist is currently riding a 10-game winning streak, its second such streak of the 2011-12 season. The Red Foxes are ranked 12th in the most recent CollegeInsider.com mid-major poll.

The Red Foxes are led into the NCAA Tournament by senior guard Corielle Yarde (Reading, Pa.), who was named MAAC Player of the Year, as well as most recently the MAAC Tournament MVP. Yarde and her 14.1 points per game average are joined by Second Team All-MAAC member senior Brandy Gang (Hartville, N.Y.), who averages 12.3 points, Third Team All-MAAC performer sophomore Leanne Ockenden (Syracuse, N.Y.), who leads the defense and MAAC All-Tournament member sophomore Casey Dulin (Milford, Conn.), who runs the point and averages 9.4 points.

The 21st-ranked Bulldogs come into the first round matchup following a quarterfinal upset to South Carolina on March 2, 59-55. Under the leadership of Head Coach Andy Landers, who is in his 33rd year in Athens, Georgia has a quartet of double figure scorers in Jasmine Hassell (13.2 ppg), Khaalidah Miller (12.1), Anne Marie Armstrong (11.6) and Jasmine Jones (10.5). Armstrong is also the team's leading rebounder with 6.3 boards per game and second with 3.0 assists.