with 16 points and eight rebounds off the bench. Marist was in its sixth straight MAAC final, and its third championship game against Canisius. The Red Foxes led wire-to-wire in their 78-63 victory as they won their fourth straight conference championship. Viani, who had 22 points and six assists in the final, was named Tournament MVP. Fitz and Allenspach, who had a career-high 22 against Canisius, were named to the All-Tournament Team.
NCAA TOURNAMENT
Marist drew a #12 seed in the NCAA Tournament and a trip to Los Angeles for a first- round match-up with #5 Virginia, which had a 23-9 overall record and an 8-6 mark in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Cavaliers’ Monica Wright and Lyndra Littles both averaged over 20 points per game. The Marist game plan included a zone defense, and there were some good signs for the Red Foxes. Wright and Littles were held to 13 points apiece and combined to shoot 10-for-35. Marist shut Virginia out over the final four-and-a-half minutes of the first half and took a 26-21 halftime lead. Unfortunately for the Red Foxes, the Cavaliers heated up in the second half. Marist was held without a field goal for the first five minutes after the intermission. Virginia shot 5-for-7 from three in the final 20 minutes after going 0-for-6 in the first 20. All of Wright’s 13 points came in the second half. The Cavaliers led by 17 with 3:28 to play before Marist mounted a furious rally. Allenspach scored 11 points in a span of 2:32. The final three points of Viani’s career brought Marist to within five with 15 seconds left, but Virginia held on for a 68-61 victory. With a final record of 29-4, Marist had won 90 games over its previous three seasons.
FUN FACTS • In 2009, Julianne Viani became the first female student-athlete in school history to play in four NCAA Tournaments. Following graduation, she played professionally in Armenia before starting her broadcasting career as a color commentator alongside Geoff Brault on Red Fox Network broadcasts. • Through 2009, Marist had a different MAAC Tournament MVP in each of its five championships – Stephanie Del Preore (2004), Meg Dahlman (2006), Rachele Fitz (2007), Sarah Smrdel (2008), and Julianne Viani (2009). • Keila Whittington completed her second season on staff in 2008-09. She departed following the season to work at Oregon, and later was on staff at Memphis. She returned to Marist as an assistant coach from 2016-19, and is now in her fourth season as head coach at St. Francis University.
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Thank You, Coach Giorgis
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