Tarul Leads Red Foxes Past North Dakota, 60-56

BETHLEHEM, PA – Lexie Tarul scored a career-high 19 points, as Marist women’s basketball wrapped up the Christmas City Classic hosted by Lehigh with a 60-56 victory over North Dakota inside Stabler Arena on Sunday afternoon.

Lexie Tarul led the Red Foxes with 19 points and added five rebounds, while Danielle Williamsen added 10 points and five rebounds in the victory.

With the win, Marist improved to 4-4 on the early campaign, while North Dakota fell to 2-5 to open the season.

First Quarter
The Red Foxes came out on fire, using the opening 3:13 to jump ahead 11-4 lead behind six points from Lexie Tarul.

However, the Fighting Hawks outpaced the Red Foxes 7-5 the rest of the frame to trim the Marist lead to 16-11 entering the second.

Second Quarter
Marist turned up the defensive intensity to open the second quarter, as the Red Foxes held the Fighting Hawks to just two points over the first six minutes of the frame, extending the lead to 21-13. Marist forced North Dakota to shoot 3-for-14 (21.4%) from the field in the frame, as the Red Foxes carried a 30-21 advantage into halftime.

Third Quarter
The two sides were nearly even through the first five minutes of the quarter, with North Dakota narrowly outscoring Marist 10-6 to trim the Marist lead to 36-31. However, the Red Foxes responded with a 10-0 run led by five points apiece from Ciara Croker and Lexie Tarul to extend the advantage to 46-31 before taking a 46-35 lead into the fourth.

Fourth Quarter
The Fighting Hawks opened the fourth quarter with a swift 9-2 run before the Red Foxes called a timeout leading 48-44 with 5:38 left in regulation. Out of the timeout, the two sides traded baskets with Marist holding a 56-54 lead with 47 seconds left. With 16 seconds left on the clock, Malea Egan beat her defender to the basket and scored with her right hand to push Marist ahead by four.

The layup proved to be enough, as the Red Foxes held on for the eventual 60-56 victory.