Women's basketball: Shooting woes bite Marist again in playoff loss
If you can’t shoot, you can’t win.
Marist struggled with accuracy all season but none worse than in Tuesday’s Metro Atlantic first-round matchup with Saint Peter’s. The tenth-seeded Red Foxes (8-21) missed all but one of 22 shots from 3-point range and hit only nine of 30 inside the arc, falling to the seventh-seeded Peahens 49-29 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t shoot the basketball very well and kind of panicked a bit,’’ said 20th-year coach Brian Giorgis. “It’s been our same bugaboo all year – we don’t make shots and so defenses don’t have to get out (on defense) on us.’’
It marks the first time in Giorgis’ decorated career that Marist failed to win a single game in the MAAC tourney, an event the Red Foxes have dominated with 11 playoff titles. The 29 points is Marist’s worst output during his 635-game tenure and only two better than the lowest MAAC playoff outing by any team in a league that dates back to 1981 (Marist joined in 1997).
More: Men's basketball: Marist sent packing from MAAC tourney by Quinnipiac
The Red Foxes were practically unrecognizable from a year ago with their top five players missing. Willow Duffell and Allie Best graduated. Caitlin Weimar transferred to Boston University. Sarah Barcello has been out with a knee injury. Starting point guard Trinasia Kennedy missed the playoff game with a concussion. Also, throw in the loss of Syracuse transfer Kiara Fisher at mid-season due to injury.
Strange enough, Marist hit its first three shots on Tuesday but proceeded to miss 30 of its next 32, well into the third quarter.
“You could see it on their faces when you go trip after trip on the offensive end and come up empty,’’ Giorgis said.
Player of the game
Saint Peter’s 6-foot-2 sophomore forward Sky Castro scored nine points and grabbed 19 rebounds, including five on the offensive glass. Her ability to keep possessions alive frustrated Marist.
By the numbers
Marist (8-21) – Kendall Krick scored 10 points in her farewell game – no other Red Fox scored more than five. Eighteen turnovers led to 18 points by the Peahens. Marist grabbed 11 offensive boards but managed only three second-chance points. For the season, Marist shot 65 percentage points worse (.343) than a year ago and 90 points the worse from 3-point range (.241), the key factors in scoring 10 fewer points (52.7 per game). The eight wins is the fewest in Giorgis' tenure.
Saint Peter’s (13-16) – Kendrea Williams and Kaila Dawkins each scored 10 points. The Peahens loaded the lane on both ends, outscoring Marist 28-16 in the paint.
They said it
“It is really discouraging that we've been in such a drought offensively this entire year. … It's just we can't get (the shots) to drop but that's really about getting in the gym and making sure we're getting shots up and taking those end-game shots so that we can make them at some point in the season.’’ – Zaria Shazer, Marist sophomore forward who shot 2-for-10 on Tuesday
Up next
Marist loses only Krick while classmate Barcello would be eligible for another season. Fisher’s return should solidify the point role and Giorgis, who is retiring after next season, believes he has good ball handlers among his recruits. As for the months ahead, Giorgis said his players have to get stronger and work on their shooting.
kmcmillan@th-record.com
Twitter: @KenMcMillanTHR
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Marist College Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference women's basketball
