from her home hanging in the balance. Nervous was not part of her vocabulary, but when she uncharacteristically passed up an open three shortly after coming in, she heard about it. Kresge was first. Giorgis, characteristically unfiltered, reminded Johnson that she “wasn’t in for her defense.” On Marist’s next possession, Johnson drained a corner three. She then converted a three-point play after a steal from Kresge the next time down the floor. On the next trip down, her pass set up a Rachele Fitz layup. These plays keyed a 10-0 Marist run, and the Red Foxes led by double digits the rest of the way. Marist 73, Middle Tennessee State 59. The Red Foxes were headed to Dayton to face top-seeded Tennessee in the Sweet Sixteen. They executed the game plan to perfection and committed just 12 turnovers. Flores shot 8-for-12 and scored a career-high 21 points. Meg Dahlman had 13 points and nine rebounds. Viani shot 3-for-4 from three and scored 13. Kresge had nine assists, and held Givens to 16 points, seven below her average. Holt was held to six points on 2-for-10 shooting.
EPILOGUE The Story of the Red Foxes’ frenetic next few days:
• Tuesday: Bus to Oakland to fly home, see Flores on the cover of USA Today (with Dahlman happily telling anyone who didn’t see it), fly to MacArthur Airport in Islip, bus home, greeted by adoring fans at the McCann Center. • Wednesday: Handle countless requests, prepare for Tennessee. • Saturday: Final preparations, including practice at UD Arena. That night, the Johnson family hosted the team for dinner. A Tennessee jacket was placed just outside the front door for everyone to step on before coming in. Indeed, a great time was had by all. • Thursday: See Wednesday. • Friday: Charter to Dayton. The following day, the Red Foxes’ historic run came to an end. Tennessee jumped out to a 22-5 lead. The Red Foxes fought until the end and outscored the Volunteers in the second half, but Tennessee prevailed by a score of 65-46. Dahlman led Marist with 16 points and eight rebounds. Candace Parker led Tennessee with 16 points and nine boards. Marist concluded the season ranked #22 in the final USA Today/ESPN Coaches’ Poll, the program’s first national ranking in its history.
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MARIST ATHLETICS
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