Midway through the second half, the Red Foxes tied the score at 49 on a jumper by Fitz. Viani’s three-pointer on Marist’s next possession gave Marist its first lead of the second half – one they would maintain the rest of the way, despite a late Ohio State charge. Marist’s lead reached a game high of eight with 1:02 left. A frenetic final minute brought Ohio State to within two, but Nikki Flores iced the game by draining two free throws in the final seconds. Marist 67, Ohio State 63. The heroes were numerous: • Viani, who shot 6-for-10 from three-point range, scored a game-high 24 points. • Playing in her first NCAA Tournament game, Fitz scored 16 points. • Smrdel delivered 10 points in 15 minutes off the bench. • Flores went 5-for-6 from the free-throw line and scored seven. • Consummate floor general Kresge had eight assists, four rebounds, three steals, and three points. She never came out of the game, and provided key help defense on Davenport. • The stat sheet will show that Meg Dahlman produced seven points, four steals, one rebound, and one assist. The impact she had on the game was phenomenal. Dahlman was the primary defender on Davenport, and the Ohio State star had 11 turnovers and 13 points (seven under her average). Dahlman was forced to leave the game after a collision which resulted in her head hitting the floor. She was cleared by Stanford’s medical team and said she “got more tired doing the clearance drills than I did during the game.” • Giorgis turned in a masterpiece. In addition to devising a game plan that neutralized Davenport, he ran a late game out of bounds play that he said he ran “twice in his career.” Flores was guarded by Davenport, who had a distinct height advantage. She passed to Kresge on the baseline, who then inbounded it to Flores, who was able to elude Davenport, get fouled, and drain key free throws. Flores said they hadn’t practiced the play, but Giorgis trusted they would execute it correctly. The biggest win in program history brought the Red Foxes to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. As we’ve said often, the best was truly yet to come.
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MARIST ATHLETICS
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