POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - The Marist women's basketball team fell to Temple, 67-54, in the opening round of the WNIT on Thursday night at McCann Arena.
Senior center Tori Jarosz (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.) led the Red Foxes with a double-double, scoring 15 points and snatching 10 rebounds. Sophomore guard Brittni Lai (Irvington, N.Y.) posted a game-high three steals and her seven assists were one short of a career high.
“Brittni did a lot of attacking north and south, not only did she get by and make them pick her up but she drew two fouls against their leading scorer,” head coach Brian Giorgis said. “That’s the type of play we’ve gotten from Brittni this year.
Marist shot 6-for-16 (.380) from three-point range and totaled 12 assists as a team while the Owls shot 7-for-22 (.318) from deep, hitting some timely ones in the second half, and assisted on twelve of their 22 field goals in the game.
“NCAA or WNIT, postseason basketball is always very competitive,” said Jarosz. “It was great that Marist gave us an opportunity to play back at home in our own gym. The atmosphere was incredible.”
Temple started the game on a 14-3 run spanning the first six minutes of the game. The Red Foxes responded with a 15-2 run of their own to take an 18-16 lead at the 10:23 mark of the up and down first half. Overall as a team the Red Foxes would finished the half 11-for-28 from the field and 3-for-9 from three point range trying to crack a tough and aggressive Temple defense.
“Kudos to them, their defense was excellent,” said Giorgis. “They did a good job limiting Tori, Sydney, and Maddy, it was always an uphill climb. You use a ton of energy trying to get back into a game and I think it took a toll on us.
Junior forward Madeline Blais (Exeter, N.H.) scored all of her 12 points in the first half behind 5-for-8 shooting from the field and a perfect two-for-two effort from behind the arc.
“”I’m really excited for next year and getting back in the lab and working with these girls,” Blais said. ‘I’m excited to be a leader for this team and work towards getting back to the NCAA’s”
A jumper from freshman guard Allie Clement (Falmouth, Maine) with fifteen minutes left in the second half cut the Red Foxes deficit to just one, 35-34. It was the closest Marist would get as a 10-4 run, sparked by two Owls three pointers, would give Temple enough cushion to hold on.
The first round WNIT loss ends the Red Foxes season as they finish 21-12 overall and 15-5 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
The MAAC will host the NCAA Women's Basketball Sweet Sixteen Albany Regional at the Times Union Center in Albany, N.Y. Tickets can be purchased here.
Remember to visit maacsports.com and follow the conversation on twitter using #MAACHoops and #MAACHoops15.
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
The MAAC, headquartered in Edison, N.J., consists of 11 member institutions for 2014: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter's University and Siena College. For more on the conference please visit, www.maacsports.com. Be sure to follow the MAAC on Facebook and Twitter: @MAACSports