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Marist Women
Earn First-Ever NCAA Tournament Berth
 It
all began in preseason. Second year head coach Brian Giorgis
felt that he had enough talent on the veteran Marist squad to
take home the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC)
Championship at the end of the season. To convey his
confidence in his team, he handed out practice shirts reading
"2004 MAAC Champions...Why Not US?"
"The team already had an year under my system, which is not an
easy one to learn, and very early in preseason you could see
that they seemed to be much more comfortable with it," Head
Coach Brian Giorgis said. "But really, they were the ones that
made me confident because they believed in themselves. I can
have all the confidence in the world, but if they don't
believe in themselves, you're not going to get it done."
Though returning ten players, including five seniors, to the
roster, Marist was picked to finish seventh in the preseason
coaches' poll, with senior Maureen Magarity
earned a spot on the Preseason All-MAAC Second Team.
Disappointed by the low pick, the Red Foxes decided to use it
as motivation.
It worked. The Red Foxes proved skeptics wrong as they
dominated their schedule and earned Marist's first-ever MAAC
Regular Season and Tournament Championships and an appearance
in the 2004 NCAA Tournament. The Red Foxes finished the year
with a 20-11 record, clinching only the second 20-win season
in program history and first winning season in more than a
decade. Marist also finished with an 11-2 record at the McCann
Center, the best home record in history.
"This season was an extremely successful one. We definitely
made ourselves a team to be noticed in the MAAC, especially
when others said we weren't," Magarity said. "Being a senior
and leaving on such a high note was a perfect way to end my
basketball career and it is only the beginning for the
underclassmen."
Marist opened the season on November 22nd on the road Hartford
with a double overtime loss. The Red Foxes opened their season
at home two days against Lehigh in front of a crowd of 1,090
people. Marist came away with the 66-53 victory. Marist
continued non-conference play on December 1st as they fell
86-78 to the future 2004 Ivy League Champion University of
Pennsylvania.
The Red Foxes returned home to open a four-game homestand and
early season MAAC play against Canisius on December 5th.
Marist made a statement, easily defeating the Griffs 78-57,
followed by downing Niagara 61-51 two days later. Marist moved
to 5-0 at the McCann Center on December 9th rolling passed St.
Bonaventure 62-54. After almost a two-week break for finals,
Marist, making its first television appearance of the season,
had their home win-streak ended as number 23 ranked Auburn
came up north. Despite falling to the Tigers 67-43 the Red
Foxes committed a season low seven turnovers and had their RPI
reach 71 and strength of schedule reach 59, the highest
rankings in program history.
"Our strength of schedule obviously helped," said Coach
Giorgis. "All of our non-conference games were close. Whether
we won or not, we were in it 'til the end. When you can win
close games early, it helps you win those close games down the
stretch."
Coach Giorgis also credits the tight-knit group of seniors
with helping the team stay focused and positive during the
non-conference portion of the Marist schedule.
"The kids were able to endure two tough losses [Hartford and
Penn] and still believe in themselves," he said. "That's what
senior leadership does for you."
 Following
a brief holiday break, the Red Foxes headed down to the Big
Easy for the Tulane DoubleTree Classic. Marist bounced Tulane
out of its own tournament for the first time in history with a
60-46 victory. The Red Foxes fell in the Championship Round on
December 28th to a very tough and physical San Jose State team
59-49. Both seniors Stephanie Del Preore and Magarity were
named to the All-Tournament Team.
Marist returned home to close out 2003 with a New Year's Eve
win over Delaware State 62-50. The Red Foxes closed out
non-conference play on the road on January 3rd falling to
Boston University. A week later, Marist road woes continued as
they fell to Manhattan 56-42. However, the Red Foxes went back
to the McCann Center to pick up easy wins over Rider and Iona.
On January 17th, Marist headed to the Pepsi Arena to face
nemesis Siena. The Red Foxes could not pull out the victory
falling 65-55. Still seeking their first road-win of the
season, Marist rolled into the Arena at Harbor Yard hungry for
victory. The Red Foxes earned the 59-45 victory which would
spark a four-game winning streak.
In the highly contested top-spot in the MAAC, the Red Foxes
remained in first place with a thrilling 77-74 victory over
Saint Peter's followed by a 64-56 win over Loyola. The Red
Foxes closed out the month of January with a 74-65 pounding of
Rider at Alumni Gym. It was also a very historic occasion as
Del Preore not only reached the 1,000-point plateau, but
recorded 31 points and 21 rebounds, becoming the first Red Fox
to record 20+ points and 20+ rebounds in a singles game and
set the single game record for rebounds.
Atop the MAAC with an 8-2 record (12-7 overall) Marist was
full of confidence as they headed to Buffalo to face Niagara
and Canisius. Beating the Purple Eagles and the Griffs a
second time around, would not come to fruition as Marist was
defeated by Niagara 65-54 and Canisius 64-51.
With six games remaining on the schedule and four teams all
vying for the regular season title, the Red Foxes knew losing
was not an option. A 68-56 win over Manhattan at the McCann
Center was just the boost the Red Foxes needed, picking up key
wins over Saint Peter's (their first-ever at the Yanitelli
Center) and Fairfield and clinched their first winning season
in 11 years with a victory at Loyola.
Riding a four-game winning streak, February 26th would prove
to be a crucial night for Marist. It was Senior Night, Siena
was the opponent, Marist was 11-1 at home and a victory would
seal sole possession of the Regular Season Championship Title.
The Red Foxes came out strong but the Saints were stronger,
edging the Marist 57-51.
In their final regular season game on February 29th, the Red
Foxes bounced back defeating Iona 66-61 and left the Mulcahy
Center as the 2003-04 MAAC Regular Season Co-Champions,
sharing their first-ever title with Siena.
The Red Foxes earned their first-ever two-seed and first round
bye in the 2004 HSBC MAAC Tournament, held March 5-7th, at the
Pepsi Arena. Marist first task was to take on a depleted
Manhattan squad. The Red Foxes overpowered the defending MAAC
Regular Season and Tournament Champion Jaspers 60-49,
advancing to their first-ever semifinal round. Marist drew
Saint Peter's in the semifinal round, a team they had swept in
the regular season. The Red Foxes pulled out an exciting 62-54
victory propelling them into the MAAC Tournament Finals
against Canisius and MAAC Player of the Year Jenel Stevens.
Canisius proved to be a formidable foe as they, after trailing
most of the way, pulled within 73-72 with 55 seconds remaining
in the game. But the Red Foxes showed great resilience as they
silenced the Griffins comeback. Del Preore hit a pair of free
throws with :18 seconds left.
Fellow senior Nina Vecchio hit her first free throw with :06
on the clock to keep Marist ahead 76-74 but missed her second
with the rebound falling into the hands of the Griffs. But as
the buzzer sounded, it would be the Red and White of Marist
storming the court, as the Red Foxes won their first MAAC
Championship and first trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Del Preore was named Tournament MVP, averaging 23 points and
11 rebounds, including a 30-point, 16-rebound performance in
the final game and Magarity was named to the All-Tournament
Team, averaging 14 points, six rebounds and 2.3 assists.
Excitement filled the air on March 14th, as more than 200
fans, friends and family gathered with the team for the 2004
NCAA Women's Championship Tournament Selection Show, being
held live on ESPN. At approximately 5:40pm the Red Foxes found
out that they were going to Tempe, Arizona as a 14-seed to
take on #3 Oklahoma (24-8) in the first round of the
Tournament.
"It was a great feeling to know that we got the respect by
being seeded fourteenth," senior Stephanie Del Preore said.
"Getting to go somewhere warm like Arizona was the icing on
the cake."
Marist, who won eight of its last nine games, headed to Tempe
with tremendous confidence. After practicing hard in the three
days prior to the game, Marist took to the court on March 20th
to face the Sooners at Wells Fargo Arena.
Marist came out flat, falling behind 14-2 eight minutes into
the game but battled back to cut the deficit to 26-23 with :34
seconds remaining on a three-pointer by Kristen Vilardi.
Marist headed into the half trailing by only five points with
the score standing at 28-23.
 The
Red Foxes struggled to score in the opening minutes of the
second half netting only four points in the first 11 minutes.
Marist was down by as much as 20 points, with 9:22 remaining
in the game and it seemed the like Sooners had put the Red
Foxes away. But that was not to be as the Red Foxes again
demonstrated their toughness. Marist scored the next 15 points
in the game over the next 5:16 to close to within five points,
47-42 with 4:06 to play in the game. After a made free throw
and a jumper with 3:07 to play by the Sooners, Megan Vetter
hit a pair of free throws to make it a two-possession game,
with 2:45 to play, 50-44.
Oklahoma pulled away by making 4-4 from the free throw line in
the final 1:57, and out scored Marist 8-1 in the final 2:45 of
play. Oklahoma was nearly perfect from the line, going 23-24
in the contest, including 12-13 in the second half, while the
Red Foxes were 10-14. Despite the loss, Marist was solid
defensively, forcing 21 Sooner turnovers. On the offensive
end, the Red Foxes had an assist on 11 of their 15 field goals
in the game and dominated the offensive boards, pulling in 12,
while allowing Oklahoma just four offensive boards. The
Sooners won the overall battle on the glass, 42-32.
The historic and remarkable 2003-04 Marist College women's
basketball season came to a close that night with a 58-45
loss. The Red Foxes finished the year with a 20-11 record, the
most wins since the 1981-82 season, and a 13-5 conference
record. Several Red Foxes were honored for their efforts
during the season. Coach Giorgis was named MAAC Coach of the
Year, center Kristin Keller was named Sixth Player of the
Year, while Del Preore and Magarity were All-MAAC Second Team
selections.
Sitting at the airport in Phoenix waiting to head back to
Poughkeepsie, an Oklahoma alumnus who was going to watch his
Sooners play stopped and addressed some members the team. "You
gave Oklahoma a good run. Believe me, you had them scared." He
paused and then smiled, "You all should be so proud of
yourselves for how well you played."
Whether at home in the McCann Center or on the national stage
in Arizona, the Red Foxes never gave up. They proved to
everyone around them that a little confidence can go a long
way and have made the Red Foxes a name to be recognized.
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