Croker’s Career-High 19 Points Leads Marist

RIVERDALE – The Marist University women’s basketball team earned its second consecutive MAAC victory on Saturday afternoon, defeating Manhattan 62-57 at Draddy Gymnasium.

Senior captain forward Ciara Croker paced the Red Foxes with a career-high 19 points on an efficient 8-for-10 from the field, to go along with eight rebounds and three assists. Senior captain guard Lexie Tarul added 18 points including 4-for-7 shooting from three-point range, while freshman forward Justine Henry finished with 10 points and nine rebounds.

Marist improves to 5-9 on the season and 2-2 in conference play, while the Jaspers drop to 1-12 overall and 1-3 in the MAAC.

First Quarter
The Jaspers took an early 10-5 lead with 4:47 to go in the opening frame.

An and-one from Henry and a layup from Croker tied the game at 10-10 with 3:19 remaining.

Manhattan countered with a 6-0 spurt to go up 16-10 with under a minute remaining.
Croker added another layup for the Red Foxes, who trailed 16-12 through one quarter of play.

Second Quarter
The game was all tied up at 25-25 with 3:56 remaining in the first half.

The Red Foxes trailed 33-30 at halftime. Croker carried the Marist offense in the first 20 minutes, pouring in 14 first-half points on 6-for-7 shooting.

Third Quarter
Marist opened the second half with a 6-0 run to take a 36-33 lead, forcing a Manhattan timeout at the 7:15 mark.

The Jaspers tied the game at 39-39 before Tarul knocked down her fourth 3-pointer of the day to give Marist a 42-39 lead with 4:24 to go in the third.

Neither team was able to create separation, as it was tied at 46-46 through three quarters.

Fourth Quarter
The Red Foxes started the final frame with a 6-0 run, taking a 52-46 lead on a driving layup from sophomore guard Kasey Bretones at the 6:52 mark.

Marist led 54-52 at the media timeout with 4:05 left in the game.

Henry knocked down a catch-and-shoot mid-range jumper off an assist from sophomore guard Danielle Williamsen to put the Red Foxes up 58-55 with 39 seconds remaining.

The Red Foxes held on to secure the 62-57 victory.

The Red Foxes travel to Merrimack on Thursday, Jan. 8 for a MAAC matchup against the Warriors.