HOW SWEET IT IS 2006-07: Marist Reaches ‘07 Sweet Sixteen
It’s unclear how much anyone in the Marist travel party slept on the night of March 17, 2007. On the night of the Red Foxes’ first NCAA Tournament win in program history – on St. Patrick’s Day, no less – there was much rejoicing to be had upon the team’s return to the Santa Clara Marriott. The players could turn on SportsCenter and see themselves and enjoy these moments with their families. Many recounted the joyous events of the evening. Some looked ahead at the next task at hand. Others waited until the morning for that. By the time the sun rose over the Pacific coast on March 18, the Marist coaching staff of Brian Giorgis, Megan Gebbia, Jada Pierce, and Erin Leger was locked in on the Red Foxes’ next opponent. The match-up was as formidable as it was fascinating. Fifth-seeded Middle Tennessee State was enjoying its best season in school history at 30-3 and was riding the nation’s longest winning streak at 27 games going into the second-round contest with the Red Foxes. The Blue Raiders were coming off an 85-46 first-round win over Gonzaga. Second-year head coach Rick Insell, who arrived after winning 775 games at Shelbyville High School in Tennessee, deployed a ferocious pressing defense. The Blue Raiders forced nearly 27 turnovers per game, and Gonzaga committed 37 against them in round one. Additionally, the dynamic duo of Chrissy
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