The Red Foxes caught fire after that. Starting with the Idaho game, Marist won 23 of its next 25. The highly anticipated first Marist-Canisius game of the season took place on Jan. 7 in Buffalo. Both teams entered at 3-0 in MAAC play. The Red Foxes took control of the game with a 14-0 first-half run and rolled to a 65-40 victory. Camara scored 20. Kolesar came off the bench and hit four three-pointers. Alisa Kresge, in what would be one in a long line of great performances against Canisius (more on that below), had 12 assists and no turnovers. Marist went 16-2 in MAAC play and earned the #1 seed by two games over Canisius. Camara was the Red Foxes’ first MAAC Player of the Year, Kresge was named MAAC Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight year, and Giorgis was named MAAC Coach of the Year for the third straight year. He shared the honor with his MAAC semifinal opponent, Iona’s Tony Bozzella. The championship format included a double bye for the top seed, so Marist opened play in the semifinals against the Gaels. Trailing by one, Iona had the ball with the shot clock off and 26 seconds remaining. The Red Foxes stood their ground defensively and advanced to their third straight championship game with a 60-59 triumph. And their opponent wasn’t Canisius. Under first-year head coach Joe Logan, third-seeded Loyola topped Canisius 76-66 in the semis. The Greyhounds were looking for their first MAAC championship since winning back-to-back titles in 1994 and 1995, when Logan was a student manager. But the Red Foxes were ready. An 18-0 run staked Marist to a 36-11 lead at the seven-minute mark of the first half. Marist led by 16 at halftime, but Loyola fought hard in the second half. The Greyhounds got to within four with 2:03 left, but the Red Foxes shut them out the rest of the way. With a 68-57 victory, Marist had its second MAAC championship in three years. Dahlman was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Flores and Smrdel were both named to the All-Tournament Team. EPILOGUE Marist was a #14 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and took the short trip to Trenton, New Jersey to face third-seeded Georgia. The Red Foxes’ season came to an end with Georgia’s 75-60 win, as Camara had 20 points and 10 rebounds in her final game at Marist. Marist won a program-record 23 games in 2005-06. And the best was truly yet to come.
25
Thank You, Coach Giorgis
Made with FlippingBook Annual report maker