Hey everybody.  Erica here.  It's been a long time and many things have happened since you last heard from us.  Were coming to the end of our regular season and were looking for momentum going into the MAAC conference tournament in Albany.  The past five games we went 5-1 against Canisius, Loyola, Fairfield, Hartford and most recently Manhattan.  For the second straight year we went 9-0 in road conference games and with our last win we clinched a share of the MAAC regular season title.  We want to win the title outright and with two games left we only need one win, but obviously we want to win both games.
  A few weeks ago we had our pack the house night against Canisius and we sold our gym out.  Unfortunately we didn't play well and lost the game 68-60.  Before this game Rachele Fitz was awarded in front of the sell out crowd for becoming the Marist all time leading scorer.  This was the second league loss for us and it really opened up our eyes.  In the next practice we talked about things that need to change and we went all the way back to the fundamentals of basketball of staying in a defensive stance and sliding our feet.  We came back that Sunday for a home game against Loyola and won 86-53.   Coach was pleased with the game because we played with energy and kept our feet moving the entire game.  Our next game the following Thursday was against Fairfield who beat us a few weeks before that.  This was a revenge game and everyone including coach seemed to be pumped up during the practices leading to the game.  We came out with a lot of energy and beat them 64-52 on their home court.  That victory gave us a one game lead in the MAAC with three to play.  The final conference game we played in this past stretch was at Manhattan.  We won 91-82 but we played a terrible defensive game and it was dissappointing to give up 82 points.  But with the win it gave us a Share of the MAAC Regular season title.
  The game we played before Manhattan was a non-league game against Hartford, another team that beat us last year and we were looking for revenge.  Last year they ended our home win streak and we were looking to do the same to their 34 game home win streak.  They have been one of the top mid-major programs the past years and it was a huge game for us on ESPN2.  It was a pink zone game and both teams were wearing pink uniforms to honor the fight against breast cancer.  It was a close game the whole way and with two Lynzee Johnson free throws the game went into overtime.  Overtime turned out to be our time and we went on to win the game 78-73.  One of the highlights of overtime besides being ahead was when Lynzee Johnson stepped to the free throw line and airballed!  On national T.V she laughed as did most of the people in the building but it was a classic.  The coaches were happy with the way we battled and played with energy, and it was nice to get revenge on them and end their home win streak.   A few days later we heard that Coach Giorgis had won "best dressed" for the men during the pink zones game because he wore all pink instead of a pink tie.  I don't think he stopped smiling that practice.
  To wrap it up I'm getting ready to head to the gym because we have a home game against Siena.  With a win we would become MAAC Regular Season Champs with one game left.  Wish us luck and we are hoping to bring another regular season title to Marist!

Erica Allenspach
  

Hey all ! Maria here=]

           Its been sometime since we've blogged, the last 2 weeks have really been like a whirlwind. Things have been pretty hectic with the start up of school and the Fairfield game. Losing is something that the Red Foxes aren't really accustomed too, but it was something we definitely needed to bring us back down to earth. When I think about the game I think about all the adversity we faced, what with the close game at Siena, and the fact that we only had about 8 or so girls at practice at one point that week. And despite, the hevy legs and the stress from school, we still managed to be right in the game. Unfortunatly for us, fate would have Fairfield playing the game of their life. The aftermath of that game would result in us losing our nationally ranked spot. To be honest though, I think we gained much more than we lost. Not that i nesscarly want to thank Fairfield for beating us at home. The only word I can describe for what they did was make us all "angry". Now tell me if you have ever seen an angry Red Fox? Im pretty sure it wont be so cute. haha I think that game is exactly what we needed to help us keep going.
            On a lighter note, a much lighter note, a PINK note to be exact, our breast cancer awareness game was so much fun. All of us were extremly excited to be strutting our stuff on the court in those coooool pink uni's! But I think what made the night extra special was our guest coach, a breast cancer survivor. Right before Coach's pre-game talk, she opened up to us all and shared her story about her fight with Breast Cancer. It made all of us very greatfull and very much aware of the struggles women face, and the strength we have to overcome adversity. That game was played for them without a doubt.
            Now that were all caught up, we can talk about whats been going on recently. Classes have started again, and Erica and I are taking a class called Research Methods, personally it should be called Death. lol Its terrible, but were getting through it. The team is finally back together; Britt, Emily, and Kristine are back in action! Our next feat is when we play Canisus tomorrow night at pack the house. From what Ive been hearing its already sold out!!! We are so excited and cant wait to play infront of that crowd.

                                                                                     Til next week,
                                                                                          Maria

Hi everybody! Erica here.  After four of our best victories of the year so far we received the
21st ranking in the associated press poll!  We were and still are happy about the ranking and our accomplishments so far, but we know we want more.  Right now our record stands at 16-1 overall and 7-0 in the MAAC conference.  Since you last heard from us we won four conference games vs. Iona, Niagara, Loyola and our latest St. Peters. 
    The Iona game was a huge game for us because they are our rivals and always play us tough.  We won the game 81-58 with Rachele Fitz scoring 26 points with 16 rebounds, Lynzee Johnson with 14 points, myself with 13 points and freshmen Brandy Gang with 11 points.  Against Niagara we won 98-51 with everyone on our team scoring in the game.  The cool part about the game was that our four freshmen all scored in double figures with Gang scoring 16, Corielle Yarde 15, Kristine Best 10, and Emily Stallings 10.  After our home game vs. Niagara we traveled to Loyola in Maryland where we have been known to play poorly.  This year was different as we jumped on them early and won the game 86-44.  We were led by Fitz with 27 points, Viani with 15, Gang with 14, and Yarde with 12.  We played this game shorthanded as Kristine Best our backup point guard was sick with a virus that she is still recovering from.  The last game we just played this past Friday vs. St. Peters we came out victorious 78-58 on our home court.  We also played this game without Best and fellow freshman Emily Stallings as she had an injury to her side.  The stat Coach Giorgis was most impressed with was that we only had 12 turnovers against a team that pressures all game and wins games by forcing turnovers.  Rachele Fitz also paced us in this game scoring 22 points and grabbing 11 rebounds for another double double.  Viani chipped in with 18 points, Johnson with 9 and Gang and myself with 8.
    After these games the MAAC rewarded Rachele Fitz with Player of the Week honors and fellow teammate Brandy Gang with Rookie of the Week honors.  Giorgis really believed we had great practices leading up to these games and that we had great production from our bench to help us put together 40 minute games.  It was really an exciting week for us with the wins and getting ranked.  We also gave ourselves a 2 game lead in the MAAC that we need to keep the rest of the year.
    Aside from basketball, this past Monday on our day off seven of us took a trip to New York City to shop and then to Brooklyn to Maria Laterza's house for some Italian Cooking!  When we got to Brooklyn it was so much different then being in Ohio.  Only two of the people that went were from New York while the other five were from Ohio or Pennsylvania.  In Brooklyn the houses were so close and everything seemed to be in walking distance!  When we got to Maria's house the only thing I wanted to do was to sit on her stoop so that I could tell everyone that I sat on a stoop in Brooklyn!  It's the little things that make people happy but that was definitely a cool experience for all of us.  After that it was dinner time (or dinna time as Maria says it) in the Laterza house.  Her mom cooked us Italian lasagna, salad, bread, and sausage and peppers.   We were supposed to bring back leftovers for our coaches but the seven of us love to eat and knew  there would be none left to take back!  The lasagna was amazing.  My mom cooks lasagna sometimes and I mean it's good  but nothing like Mrs. Laterza's lasagna!  Sorry Mom! After we ate we were stuffed and had to have good luck to catch the 10:12 train.  After boarding the train in Brooklyn and stopping wherever we had to transfer trains, we had to run to catch the train so that we could make it to Grand Central Station.   Once we got to Grand Central we also had to run from there to catch the train that was leaving soon.  None of us knew where to go so we were following Maria and trying to find our train.  Definitely wasn't a day off for us because we finally caught the train we wanted to be on but we were sweating and exhausted from the long day and running!  Overall it was a great experience especially after we had a great week in basketball.
    On Sunday January 18th we travel to Siena to play them for the first time this year for our 8th conference game.  We are looking to steal a road victory and to play well going into next week.  Classes will also be starting Tuesday and were not really looking forward to that!  We want to cap off a good break with a good win.   Wish us luck!

Erica Allenspach
         

    Hey all ! Laterza here. First and foremost Happy New Year!! My apologies for keeping you all waiting. The last few weeks we've had more on our plates then you could possibly imagine. For the rest of the team, I know going home was a real relief, and a chance to just blow off steam from finals. Everyone was really happy to finally go home and get to spend time with friends and family. For myself, I was just really looking forward to heading down to Florida. We reported back to campus the 26th at 5pm for practice. Lynzee and Erica's flights were delayed so we were 2 players short at practice. Running full court drills with only 9 people the day after Christmas wasn't exactly the best feeling in the world but we survived. The next day everyone was their and our preparation for the tournament began.
    Miami was beautiful. The weather was perfect, never too warm or cold, and it was always sunny. We had a few hours to enjoy Miami and got a chance to go to South Beach. We all had a lot of fun relaxing on the beach and just walking around taking in the different culture. It was all well and good, but we knew we had business to attend too. Both games weren't easy and once again we were faced with a different types of challenges. Though we prevailed and won the tournament it was bittersweet. We knew we hadn't given it all we had, and did not play up to our full potentials. After the Georgia Southern game Coach Giorgis really brought us back to reality and let us know that in order for us to win come conference time we all needed to step up and contribute more..
    Were only a few days into the new year and already we've had some of the best practices we've had all season. Our game against Rider this past Sunday was the first game we could say that we kept our momentum for both half's. It was a good start for us as we get into conference play. We know this is when it counts the most.

                                                                                                   Maria Laterza

Hi everyone it's Erica again!  Sorry it has taken so long to respond.  We have been facing a lot of adversity these past 10 days or so with a few people sick and a death in one of our players family.  This week is also finals week and I know my teammates and I are ready for this stressful week to be over.
As for basketball we are now a very happy 8-1 team considering we haven't played up to our full potential yet.  Two weekends ago we took the six hour bus trip to Buffalo for our first two conference games against Niagara and Canisius.  After slow starts in the first half of both games we buckled down in the second half, winning the Niagara game 60-38 and the Canisius game 70-52.  In the Niagara game we were lead by Julianne Viani with 18 points and 5 assists, followed by Rachele Fitz with 15 points.  We also got two great games by Maria Laterza with 8 points and 10 rebounds and freshmen Brandy Gang with 8 points and 6 rebounds.  In the Canisius game we were paced by Fitz with 24 points and Viani with 16 points and 4 assists.  That was followed by myself with 9 points and Laterza and Lynzee Johnson making good contributions with 7 points apiece.
The next week in practice we really focused on executing our offenses and knowing the scout better.  We ran a great motion in both games but we weren't able to execute our offenses the way the coaches wanted us to.  This past Saturday we had a home game against a good Boston University team that was picked to finish third in the America East.  Boston University was a very efficient team and executed their offense very well as they only turned the ball over eleven times.  It wasn't the prettiest game on our part but we were able to escape with a 73-62 win.  We were once again led by Fitz with 28 points and 12 rebounds and Viani with 19 points and 5 assists.  Johnson also scored in double figures with 10 points and 7 rebounds.  After the wins Rachele Fitz was named the MAAC Player of the Week for the third time this season.  The Boston game was a good win for us heading into finals and the last game before Christmas break.
Coach Giorgis gave us Sunday and Monday off to study for finals before returning Tuesday to prepare for Saturday's game against a very good St. Bonaventure's team, that already upset Michigan State.  This is going to be a challenge for us because not only are they a good team but after the game we all get to leave and go home for Christmas!  Everyone is excited to go home and see our friends and family  but we have to focus on the game and think about home afterwards.  We have been known in the past a few times to bomb the game before break and end up losing, and we don't want that knowing that a loss would make practices over break miserable.  I think this team is a very focused and competitive group and I believe we won't overlook the game.  So don't forget to check back in with Maria Laterza next week for updates on our basket"bawl" game and as always we enjoy the comments you leave us!  Merry Christmas everyone!!

Erica Allenspach

 

                The targets are on our backs this year, and Sunday was our first test to see how far we have all come as a team since the pre-season. We're a really special group of young women this year, and though some may think that the fact that we're so young and inexperienced may hurt us, the drive and determination we each have to stay a successful program helps us get better with each passing day.

                We lost a lot of talent last year when our seniors graduated, and we lost a lot of great leadership too. Our captains and upperclassmen this year have had no problems filling in those shoes and setting good examples for the sophomore class and our freshmen. They're like the "big sisters" of the group. They know the ropes and really care about guiding us through the obstacles we each face as a team and individually. This year I feel that our freshmen are really going to play an important role, and with each passing day they become more aware with Coach Giorgis's system and more comfortable with playing at the next level. As for the sophomores, a lot of this is new to us just as it is to the freshmen, seeing since last year was such a crucial learning year for us. Now after watching and taking in everything we needed to know, we're more than ready to contribute to the team in any way we can.

                The one thing that I'm most amazed by so far this year is our team chemistry. It's not only by class, but all of this year are so close already. We each genuinely care about one another's development, and we love playing with each other. It didn't take long for us to create bonds with one another, and I Think the coaching staff did a great job in recruiting such talented freshman with great personalities that click so well with everyone.

                Preseason wasn't easy. There were days when practices really looked ugly, and all of us have been guilty for hanging our heads and getting down on ourselves. With motivation from our coaches and players, we each helped pick each other up and pushed ourselves to work harder for each other. We finally started to practice hard and a lot of good things started to happen. We played our first two scrimmages and got an idea of what we need to work on as a team and as individuals. Since then, almost every morning you can find a different player in the gym working with the coaches on each end of the court. After seeing how hard we've worked the last few months, I have nothing but confidence in our team this year. We still have a lot to learn and a long way to go to get to where we want to be. The team shares the same hunger to better ourselves and to carry on the tradition of success from the previous seasons.

                At the beginning of the season Coach Giorgis told us all had a choice. This was either going to be a rebuilding year, or a year were we just pick up where we left off. WE have the full intentions of picking up where we left off. It seems like we're off to a good start since we won our first home game on Sunday. We all couldn't be happier but we know the long road ahead of us. Right from the beginning, we came out relentless and took it to the other team. However, we all knew the game would not have been set in stone in just the first half. We let up in the beginning of the second half and caused U. Albany to catch up on the scoreboard. Julianne and Rachele really stepped up and helped us add to our lead. The night was especially exciting for our entire freshmen class who all scored their first points of their college careers in the McCann Center on the same night. Everyone contributed Sunday and all the hard work in the preseason paid off. We are all very anxious to keep the momentum going and to not let up. We face our next challenge this weekend as we head off to Boston to play Northeastern on Friday followed by Harvard on Sunday. We can't wait. Wish us luck!