BOX SCORE
Poughkeepsie, N.Y. – Second half defense and clutch late shooting lifted the Marist women's basketball team to a 57-51 win over Hartford in the third of four-straight games away from West Hartford for the Hawks. Junior Ruthanne Doherty led Hartford with her third double double of the season with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
Both teams put on a shooting clinic in the first half as the Hawks outshot Marist 44 percent (14-of-32) to 40 percent (13-of-33). Neither team would shoot well in the second half as the Red Foxes connected on 6-of-23 (26.1 percent) from the field and the Hawks shot just 21.4 percent on 6-of-28. Joining Doherty in leading the Hawks was fellow classmates Daphne Elliott and Alex Hall who finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Marist was led by senior Corielle Yarde who finished with 19 points.
The Hawks would finish with a slight 42-41 advantage on the boards with Doherty's 12 rebounds leading all players in the game. Despite early offensive rebounding by the Red Foxes, The Hawks took a 17-16 advantage on the offensive glass, also leading the way in second chance points 10-9. Hartford committed a season-low 12 turnovers, while forcing just eight from Marist.
Neither team could manage much of a lead in the first half with nine lead changes and five tie scores in the first 20 minutes. The Hawks would get on board first with a three pointer from Elliott. The Red Foxes would respond with the next four points on layups from Brandy Gang and Leanne Ockenden. The lead would switch once more in the first three minutes as the Hawks provided the next four points on a layup from Doherty and a jumper from Amber Bepko.
Using a 6-0 run, the Red Foxes provided the fifth lead change and took a 19-15 lead with 10:47 remaining before the intermission. The Hawks would answer by scoring seven of the next nine points to retake the lead at 22-21 with 7:16 remaining. Six of the Hawks seven points in the run came on three pointers, one each from Elliott and Hall.
Marist would match that Hawks run and score seven of the next nine to pull ahead by five, the largest lead of the game for either team to that point. The lead came on a pair of free throws from Brittany Gang with 4:51 remaining in the first period. The Hawks would take the lead once more before the break, scoring six-unanswered to take a 33-32 lead with 1:56 remaining. All six points came from three different players, jumpers from Smith and Hall and a put-back layup from Doherty.
Despite Doherty providing the final bucket of the half on a layup with 24 seconds remaining, Marist would end the half with five of the final seven points to take a one-bucket advantage into the break 37-35.
Defense prevailed in the second half as both team would manage just nine points over the first 12-plus minutes. Hartford provided the first three points of the half on a layup from Nikkia Smith and a free throw from Elliot before Marist answered with six-unanswered to take a 43-38 lead, matching its highest, with 16:3 to play.
Hartford would go on to score eight of the next 11 points, which allowed for a 46-46 tie, which came following back-to-back buckets from Doherty. Ockenden would respond to those two baskets with a three pointer for the Red Foxes, a basket that broke nearly five minutes without a bucket. That three also sparked a 7-0 run that led to a 53-46 lead for Marist, its largest to that point.
Hall would break up almost four minutes without a bucket for the Hawks with a jumper with 3:00 minutes remaining, but Ockenden would respond to that with a three pointer 16 seconds later that game Marist a 56-48 lead. The Hawks were unable to capitalize on a pair of three pointers in the final minutes, managing just three free throws in the final 1:30, despite holding Marist without a bucket over the last 2:44. Marist would manage just one free throw in that stretch.
The Hawks will return to action on Sunday when the play their fourth-straight game away from West Hartford, taking on the St. John's Red Storm at 1:00 p.m. at Carnaseca Field House.
