The Red Foxes’ resume was boosted by their wins over eventual NCAA Tournament teams Utah and Nebraska at the Oahu Classic over Thanksgiving Weekend. Marist’s only two regular-season losses came to Ohio State and Hartford, both of which were also tournament-bound. Indeed, the Red Foxes were packing both their red and white jerseys for their trip to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Marist earned a #7 seed and would wear the home whites in round one against #10 DePaul on March 22. Head coach Doug Bruno had guided the Blue Demons to a 20-11 record with an 8-8 mark in Big East play. Allie Quigley, a two- time Honorable Mention All-American and career 2,000-point scorer, led DePaul with 19.5 points per game. The first half included seven lead changes and five ties, but DePaul’s six-point halftime lead at 37-31 was the largest in the game to that point. The Blue Demons took their momentum into the second half, as their lead soared to 13 with 14:13 remaining. With 12:48 to go, head coach Brian Giorgis made a three-player substitution, as Lynzee Johnson, Sarah Smrdel, and Elise Caron joined Rachele Fitz and Julianne Viani on the floor. A layup by Taylor Pikes seven seconds later increased DePaul’s lead to 55-44. But this game was about to swing dramatically in the Red Foxes’ favor. The Caron-Viani-Johnson-Fitz-Smrdel quintet shut out DePaul for over four minutes.
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Thank You, Coach Giorgis
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