Top MAAC teams square off
Phil Terrigno
Issue date: 2/4/10 Section: Sports
The last two home games for the Marist women's basketball team have been close games against opponents with similar rosters full of tall, athletic, and physical players.
This Friday, a third team cut from the same mold visits the McCann Center.
The Red Foxes will host the Iona Gaels, the winners of nine straight games who hold an identical MAAC record of 9-1, on "Pack the House" night in the most highly anticipated conference game since Marist and Iona were both selected to finish in the top two spots in the MAAC pre-season coaches poll.
History certainly favors the Red Foxes in this contest as head coach of the Gaels, Anthony Bozzella, has never defeated a Brian Giorgis team during his eight seasons at the helm of Iona.
Personnel changes from last season to the current one are the reason why the Gaels are considered to be the top contender to Marist.
The Gaels return all five starters from a team that narrowly lost to the Red Foxes, 76-69, in the 2008-2009 MAAC tournament semifinals.
Iona also welcomes back two extremely important players who missed all of last season.
Three-point specialist Catherine Lutz, who tied an Iona record for most three-pointers made by a freshman, returns after missing her sophomore year due to a leg injury.
Anna McLean also returns after missing last season due to personal reasons. The 6'2'' senior center came to Iona's preseason training camp in remarkable shape and has proved to the Iona coaching staff that she is deserving of a starting spot.
Against St. Francis (NY) earlier this season, McLean tallied 16 points on 8-of-8 shooting with four rebounds, two steals, and one block in just 13 minutes.
Milicia Paligoric, a 6'3'' sophomore who started at center last season due to McLean's absence is just one of the lengthy players that Iona features on its bench.
In fact, the Gaels have nine players that are six feet or taller on their bench.
Marist is just a single loss removed from a 13-game winning streak, and a hard week of practices leading up to this contest should definitely get this team back on track to compete for first place in the MAAC.
Editor's Pick: Marist 74, Iona 66.
The Gaels will play an extremely close and energetic game up until the end, but Marist will eventually pull away just enough to seal the victory. The Red Foxes are a team that knows how to win in pressure situations. The McCann Center will be at capacity, and although there is an enormous amount of pressure on Marist to win and stay in first place, there is an equal amount of pressure on the Gaels to win. Iona is a squad that wants to prove that they do belong at the top of the MAAC, and there's certainly no better way to do that than to defeat the Red Foxes on their home court.
Unfortunately, it won't happen for Iona in this game. The Gaels have enjoyed a tremendous amount of success early on this season, but as far teams in the MAAC go, Marist will still be team to beat.
This Friday, a third team cut from the same mold visits the McCann Center.
The Red Foxes will host the Iona Gaels, the winners of nine straight games who hold an identical MAAC record of 9-1, on "Pack the House" night in the most highly anticipated conference game since Marist and Iona were both selected to finish in the top two spots in the MAAC pre-season coaches poll.
History certainly favors the Red Foxes in this contest as head coach of the Gaels, Anthony Bozzella, has never defeated a Brian Giorgis team during his eight seasons at the helm of Iona.
Personnel changes from last season to the current one are the reason why the Gaels are considered to be the top contender to Marist.
The Gaels return all five starters from a team that narrowly lost to the Red Foxes, 76-69, in the 2008-2009 MAAC tournament semifinals.
Iona also welcomes back two extremely important players who missed all of last season.
Three-point specialist Catherine Lutz, who tied an Iona record for most three-pointers made by a freshman, returns after missing her sophomore year due to a leg injury.
Anna McLean also returns after missing last season due to personal reasons. The 6'2'' senior center came to Iona's preseason training camp in remarkable shape and has proved to the Iona coaching staff that she is deserving of a starting spot.
Against St. Francis (NY) earlier this season, McLean tallied 16 points on 8-of-8 shooting with four rebounds, two steals, and one block in just 13 minutes.
Milicia Paligoric, a 6'3'' sophomore who started at center last season due to McLean's absence is just one of the lengthy players that Iona features on its bench.
In fact, the Gaels have nine players that are six feet or taller on their bench.
Marist is just a single loss removed from a 13-game winning streak, and a hard week of practices leading up to this contest should definitely get this team back on track to compete for first place in the MAAC.
Editor's Pick: Marist 74, Iona 66.
The Gaels will play an extremely close and energetic game up until the end, but Marist will eventually pull away just enough to seal the victory. The Red Foxes are a team that knows how to win in pressure situations. The McCann Center will be at capacity, and although there is an enormous amount of pressure on Marist to win and stay in first place, there is an equal amount of pressure on the Gaels to win. Iona is a squad that wants to prove that they do belong at the top of the MAAC, and there's certainly no better way to do that than to defeat the Red Foxes on their home court.
Unfortunately, it won't happen for Iona in this game. The Gaels have enjoyed a tremendous amount of success early on this season, but as far teams in the MAAC go, Marist will still be team to beat.
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