Feb. 14, 2009

Marist-Hartford Game Notes

THE MATCHUP: Marist goes out of conference Sunday afternoon to take on Hartford on ESPN2.

ON THE AIR: Geoff Brault and Mike Ferraro will call all the action on GoRedFoxes.com beginning at 12:45 p.m. The game will be televised regionally on ESPN2 with Bob Picozzi and Rebecca Lobo providing the descriptions.

SERIES RECORD: Hartford leads the overall series 3-2.

LAST MEETING: Marist suffered its first loss at the McCann Center in 26 home games when Hartford defeated the Red Foxes 49-32 on Dec. 12, 2007. Rachele Fitz led all players with 12 points. The Red Foxes' 32 points were the lowest point total for Marist in a game since scoring 40 at St. Mary's (CA) in the 2004-05 season. Marist shot 27.3% from the field, making only 12-of-44 shots from the field.

LAST TIME OUT: Behind 20 points from Julianne Viani, Marist defeated Fairfield at Alumni Hall 64-52 on Thursday night. Viani made 7-of-11 shots from the field and 5-of-6 free throws. Marist shot 51.6% from the field to build a 12-point halftime lead. Rachele Fitz added 17 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Erica Allenspach also had seven rebounds to go with eight points and a career-high six steals.

MARIST V. AMERICA EAST: Marist is 12-10 all-time against teams from America East. The Red Foxes have already defeated two America East teams this season, defeating both Albany and Boston University at the McCann Center.

POINTS KEEP GETTING HARDER TO FIND: The Red Foxes have won 124 games under head coach Brian Giorgis when the opponent scores 60 points or less. During his tenure, Marist has let a conference opponent score 70 or more points eight times. So far this season the Red Foxes have held an opponent to 60 points or less 19 times. In five meetings against Hartford, the Hawks have not scored over 70 points.

RECORD-BREAKER AND SHOT MAKER: Only a junior, forward Rachele Fitz has set new Marist career records for points, field goals, and free throws. In 95 career games Fitz has scored 1,675 points, made 614 field goals, and connected on 438 free throws. Since scoring six points against Manhattan to break Marist's career scoring record, Fitz has averaged 20.5 points per game and shot 59.6% from the field in the last four games.

DYNAMIC DUO: Marist's Rachele Fitz and Julianne Viani are the MAAC's top 1-2 scoring duo, combining to average 35.5 points per game. That is exactly 50% of Marist's average points per game. Fitz currently leads the MAAC in scoring at 20.2 points per game with Viani fourth averaging 15.3 points per game.

TAKE IT AWAY, ERICA: Thursday night, Erica Allenspach set a new career-high with six steals at Fairfield. She had five steals in Marist's 86-53 win over Loyola on Feb. 8. Allenspach has had three or more steals in five games this season. Last season's MAAC Rookie of the Year, Allenspach is the Red Foxes' third-leading scorer, averaging 7.8 points per game while also averaging 3.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.

ATTACKING THE TIN: The Red Foxes scored half of their 64 points in the lane Thursday night at Fairfield. Marist has scored over 20 points in the paint in each of the last 14 games, scoring over 30 points eight times. The Red Foxes are averaging 28.7 points per game in the paint, outscoring the opposition by 9.1 points per game in the lane.

SCOUTING HARTFORD: The Hawks come into Sunday's game with a record of 14-8 and are currently on a six-game winning streak. Hartford is 9-1 in America East behind 10-0 Boston University. In their last game, the Hawks won at Binghamton 74-54 on Wednesday night. Ilicia Mathis led five Hartford players in double-figures with 14 points. Lisa Etienne and Erica Beverly each scored 13 points. Hartford shot 51.8% from the field and held Binghamton to 35.6%. Diana Delva leads Hartford in scoring, averaging 12.2 points per game and shooting 61.8% from the field. Beverly averages 10.7 points and a team-high 7.2 rebounds per game. Hartford is a perfect 8-0 at home this season.