Nov. 16, 2009

Marist-West Virginia Game Notes

THE MATCHUP: After defeating North Carolina A&T 80-64 Friday night, Marist travels to West Virginia for the second round of the preseason WNIT.

ON THE AIR: Geoff Brault and Mike Haase will have the call on GoRedFoxes.com beginning at 6:45 p.m. Monday night.

SERIES RECORD: This is the fi rst ever meeting between the Red Foxes and Mountaineers. Marist is 2-15 all-time against the Big East, with its last win coming on March 22, 2008. The Red Foxes defeated DePaul 76-57 at the Maravich Center in Baton Rouge, La. in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

LAST TIME OUT: Marist had an impressive debut to the 2009-10 season, shooting 48.3% from the fi eld in an 80-64 win over North Carolina A&T at the McCann Center Friday night. Rachele Fitz led all players with 30 points on 12-of-15 shooting from the fi eld, and added nine rebounds. Junior guard Erica Allenspach scored 20 points with seven rebounds. The Red Foxes had 21 assists to only 11 turnovers Friday night, forcing 16 Aggies turnovers.

NO RUST ON THAT MACHINE: The Red Foxes showed little offseason rust Friday night, shooting 48.3% from the fi eld and 46.7% from the three-point line against North Carolina A&T. Marist shot 50% from the fi eld in the fi rst half on the way to a 45-29 halftime lead.

DYNAMIC DUO: Senior forward Rachele Fitz and junior guard Erica Allenspach combined for 50 points against North Carolina A&T Friday night. Fitz scored 30 points on 12-of-15 shots from the field, and also had nine rebounds and four assists. Allenspach had 20 points and seven rebounds. The two combined to make 19 of 26 shots from the field.

STRONG FIRST START: Sophomore guard Corielle Yarde made her fi rst career start Friday night, scoring 10 points against North Carolina A&T. Yarde was 4-for-8 from the fi eld and made two three-pointers in 25 minutes of action.

SIX-PACK: Marist won its sixth-consecutive MAAC regular-season title in 2008-09, becoming the fi rst team in the conference to win six in a row. The Red Foxes currently have the fourth-longest regular-season title streak in the country behind Wisconsin Green-Bay (11 straight), Chattanooga (10), and Stanford (8).

PROTECT THE ROCK: Marist finished last season sixth in the country in assist-turnover ratio at 1.2. This was aided by being seventh in the nation in assists at 16.6 per game and 19th in turnovers per game at 14.4 per game. The Red Foxes had a positive assist-turnover ratio in 19 of 33 games. Marist had 21 assists to 11 turnovers on Friday night. Sophomore point guard Kristine Best had five assists to no turnovers against the Aggies.